Catvertising: Why do animals equal viral success?
It's no secret that Britain's insatiable appetite for animals is fuelling a nation-wide marketing trend for 'catvertising' - but why?
It's no secret that Britain's insatiable appetite for animals is fuelling a nation-wide marketing trend for 'catvertising' - but why?
It’s no secret that Britain’s insatiable appetite for animals is fuelling a nationwide marketing trend for ‘catvertising’, implanting animals into ads almost guarantee’s success.
Cats and talking meerkat’s are a sure way to gain consumer engagement and build brand awareness through emotional connection – building on the very real connection between owners and their pets. What is it about the ‘animal formulae’ that works so well in marketing?
Is it the unconditional trust between man and animal that emulates itself into brand engagement? Is it their cute appearance? The humour?
In the past month alone we have seen a range of animal-tailored marketing campaigns that have succeeded in sharing brands messages across the digital space. Three, the mobile phone company, had huge success with its Sing It Kitty campaign, and Freeview bathed in the success of the glorious ‘Cat and Budgie‘ commercial which united old enemies for our televisual taste buds.
Perhaps the greatest example of ‘catvertising’ and its potential to succeed is the adorable group of talking meerkats that worked their way into the affections of a nation and in the process doubled their owners (Compare the Market) value.
Compare the Market’s meerkat creation is known as one of the most successful advertising strategies of all time, with a mini-industry being built on the back of its success – albeit small cuddle toys and parody Twitter accounts. In the wake of their first appearance on our screens in 2009, they have produced several spin off microsites, complete with their own social media profiles and even a catchphrase which has scribbled itself in the Collins English Dictionary – not bad eh.
Writing in The Drum, Mel Peck, marketing and communities manager at the Viral Ad Network (VAN) said that it’s “clear that Aleksandr Orlov and his fluffy family have been a catalyst for a notable increase in animal fronted marketing campaigns”, due to their emotional power – but why?
Luke Tipping, senior interactive creative at Wieden + Kennedy, the agency behind #SingItKitty, thinks that it’s how we view animals compared to ourselves.
He said: “Animals are popular because they’re aspirational. We wish we could be more like them. They live for the moment, are true in their affections and they don’t worry about having a bad hair day. Difficult standards for us people to live up to.”
Peck continued: “Our research here at VAN has shown that people are far more likely to share a piece of content if it has a strong emotional impact, particularly at the positive end of the spectrum, and the ‘feel good factor’ is one of the most effective viral triggers.
“Animal fronted campaigns…remind them of their own pets, triggering feelings of warmth that consumers will project onto the brand.”
A recent example of animals pushing a brands message into the stratosphere is Budweiser’s Super bowl commercial. ‘Puppy Love’, which has nearly 50 million views and counting, tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a horse and a little Labrador.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQB7QRyF4p4
Listen to the words of Toronto-based agency, John St., which summed up the power of cats as marketing tools nicely with an awesome faux-commercial promoting the world’s first cat video production agency.
Even if you dislike the ways of furry felines, it is impossible to avoid their power in advertising and their ability to connect with markets across digital landscapes. It’s the emotional response that they trigger that is so valuable to brands. Marketing only works when it means something to people, connecting them to your brand via emotion works – it’s a tried and tested formulae. Praise the cat.
We love animals and we know advertising is just that- a story a sales pitch. So instead of listening to some patronising actor dressed in a white coat telling us about sparkly white teeth, we prefer to watch an animal doing something entertaining. Or maybe kids are the biggest influencers of household spending patterns?