5 Reasons Why Pets Make the Best Brand Ambassadors

When it comes to running marketing campaigns, a brand ambassador is a good thing to have. Brand ambassadors help concretize the brand’s values, which may seem abstract and hard for consumers to understand otherwise. They also serve as a “face” for the brand, or the ideal representative of the demographic the company wants to reach.

An effective brand ambassador will create a connection between the brand and its target audience, which often results in higher sales and increased long-term engagement with customers. Put simply, the more a brand ambassador resonates with the target audience, the better outcome will be for the brand.

Although this may be the first time you’ve encountered this term, it is by no means a brand-new or groundbreaking marketing strategy. You’ve probably seen successful brand ambassadorships play out between athletes and athletic apparel brands, or musicians and musical instrument manufacturers. What you can do differently, however, is go beyond human faces for your brand. If you’ve got a lot of customers who are also pet owners, you may want to consider involving pet ambassadors in your new campaign.

What’s so special about pets, and why should you include them as the new faces of your company? Here are the five most compelling reasons:

They Make Good Models

Pets are effective models, which is great if you want to launch a line of custom martingale dog collars or other pet clothing products. Your pet owner customers will agree—it’s no trouble to get their cat or dog to look good in what they’re wearing, it’s just a matter of getting the right take on camera. Find pet ambassadors to model your new products while they’re out and about with their owners, or solicit pictures or videos of them wearing your pet apparel.

They Draw People’s Attention

Pets have a widespread appeal that will catch the attention of many customers. Few can resist a cute picture of a cat or dog, let alone a video or an especially funny meme. A pet ambassador’s friendly face, hilarious antics, or charming personality will do a lot to draw an audience in. See the difference in your engagement metrics after you post content of your chosen pet ambassador on your brand’s social media pages, or after you feature them in a television commercial or print ad.

They’re Highly Relatable

One of the most successful strategies that a brand can use to drive up its engagement is to hearken to familiar and relatable experiences. Pet ownership is definitely one of them if your brand is appealing to an American audience. The National Pet Owner Survey, conducted between 2019 and 2020, revealed that at least 67 percent of all American households, or approximately 85 million American families, housed a pet.

That said, you can incorporate pet ambassadors into your brand story, or the overall narrative that guides the public’s perception of your brand. If your customers can relate their experiences as pet owners with your brand story, you’ll be able to elicit a powerful emotional reaction from them. That reaction will help them remember your brand and think of it in a positive light.

They Stand Out as Brand Ambassadors

As mentioned above, many companies already use brand ambassadorship as part of their marketing strategy—oftentimes, to the chagrin of their audience. People are bombarded with the same types of ads across different channels. Moreover, they likely see the same human faces endorsing the same brands.

Your company can change tack and feature a pet ambassador, which your audience will find distinctive and refreshing. Make a strong impression on your would-be customers and stand out from the crowd with the help of a new “spokespawson,” so to speak.

They’ll Unlock Creative Marketing Approaches from Your Brand

Lastly, including pet ambassadors in your new marketing campaign could help you and your team get out of any creative ruts you’re currently experiencing. You may be losing confidence in your brand and your ability to captivate a new audience using the same old marketing methods. Revolving your campaign around pet ambassadors will require you to shift gears, so to speak. You might end up with new creative concepts, a new slogan, or a new visual direction because your pet ambassadors inspired you to think differently. That alone could be the boost that your brand needs.

It’s Time to Find the Perfect New Pet Ambassadors for Your Brand

Now that you know just how powerful pets can be as brand ambassadors, it may be time for you to look for the new furry, feathery, or even scaly faces of your business. Here are a few things you can do to ensure the success of your pet-driven marketing campaign:

• Reach out to loyal customers and ask them if they’re willing to share photos or videos of their pets, for the express purpose of marketing your products. Offer them a benefit in return, like a discount or freebie.
• Think of the content you want to develop around your new pet ambassadors. For example, you could kick off a series of conversation starters on social media with accompanying pet photos. Alternatively, you could launch a short video series, with each episode featuring a different pet.
• If the owners are willing to share the spotlight, consider including them in your campaign as well. Other customers may be able to relate more if they see a human face as well as a pet’s.

Once you align your brand values and desired brand experiences with the appeal of your new pet ambassador, you’ll achieve the results that you’re gunning for. Take a chance on this innovative marketing strategy and explore the paw-sibilities!