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Animals Online - More Bark For Your Buck

Animals are hard to forget and easy to love. That's why so many successful marketers both online and offline are capitalizing on the charm of animals. Surveys show that the most-watched commercials on U.S. television and abroad feature some type of animal.

Remember the sleepy little backwater swamp with crickets chirping, fireflies flaring and frogs croaking? Slowly the frog croaks start to sound vaguely familiar. "Bud." "Weiss." "Er." While frogs aren't exactly warm and fuzzy by day, in the peace and quiet of a swampy summer night the slimy little critters came off witty and charming. And beer started flying off the shelves.

Most recently, Americans have become fixated on the AFLAC duck and The GEICO gecko. The GEICO ads make fun of people who pay too much for auto insurance and feature not only the little green gecko but also an Airedale with attitude who laughs hysterically at the amount of his master's auto insurance bill. The AFLAC commercials have been such a hit that AFLAC even sells "duck gear" to promote its brand. 

The success of pets in advertising comes as no surprise when you consider that Americans are growing increasingly attached to their critters. Pets outnumber people in the Untied States by about 60 million. (There are 360 million pets in this country.) In the decade from 1994 though 2004, the amount of money spent on pet food, pet supplies, veterinary visits, medicines, live animals and services more than doubled from $17 billion to $34.2 billion. In 2005 alone 36.3 billion was spent.   

Pet owners' spending is not limited to the basics. A recent survey showed that 27 percent of dog owners and 13 percent of cat owners buy their pets birthday presents. Fifty five percent of dog owners and 37 percent of cat owners buy their pets holiday presents.

"Both baby boomers and young professionals who are delaying having families in favor of careers are turning to pets to fill the void at home," said pet marketing analyst Bob Vetere. "With these families' higher-than average disposable incomes, their pets are enjoying elaborate high-end products. In a recent survey, pet owners said that they have a special bond with their pets and consider them a best friend, a companion or like a child or member of the family." And this group of devoted pet owners won't even vacation without their dogs. In response to this, several hotel chains including Marriott and Westin allow pets in the rooms and they offer room service for pets.

So what does any of this have to do with you and your ebusiness?

Since animals have an uncanny ability to sell products and services ranging from beer to life insurance, maybe you should think about whether animals of some sort can be logically incorporated into your website.

Before you roll your eyes and dismiss this theory as "hogwash" (pun intended) maybe you should take a look at the statistics. Six of the past ten winners of the USA Today's annual Ad Meter rankings of Super Bowl ads featured animals. As one successful Super Bowl advertiser put it: "There is no law that says we have to put animals in Super Bowl ads. They just happen to score well."

Why do you think successful marketers like L.L. Bean and Land's End always include a "pet section" in their catalogs and on their web sites? It's easy to see the economic advantages for the advertisers. Animals represent comfort and unconditional love and they arguably have a more universal appeal in today's marketplace than humans from a particular ethnic or demographic mold. 

Money Programme writer Terry O'Sullivan put it this way: "Animals offer an instant emotional connection, and emotion is a great motivator when it comes to making purchases. Animals offer warm, uncomplicated relationships in a world too full of confusion and hostility." 

Millions of people who aren't "actual" pet owners have become "virtual" pet owners on one of the many web sites where you can "adopt" or even design your own virtual pet which you can name and visit with at any hour of the day or night. You can interact with the pet, teach it tricks and even feed it a "virtual" bowl of kibbles. There are staggering numbers of websites that feature pet products, services, health care advice and other information.

The nearly 100 million pet-loving baby boomers and young professionals with higher-than-average incomes are going to spend their money somewhere. Many of these people (especially the young professionals) do most of their shopping online. For better or worse, the Airedales with attitude are taking over. Is your ebusiness positioned to take advantage of this lucrative trend?