I feel so lucky to be in this industry. It allows me to make a good living doing what I love to do–make life better for pets and people.

One way to do that is to make life convenient, practical and simplified for people that have pets. If I can help to do that, there is a good chance that those pets will lead happier lives, and ultimately more pets will be adopted into great families.

Here’s my latest contribution to helping pet owners “dig life” with pets. On Monday, we  officially launch Barking Deals, a daily deal web site for pet parents.  Okay, for dog parents mostly–soon to be for cat parents too. (We’re already getting howling protests from the cat community!)

Essentially, it’s Groupon for pet people. Check it out and let me know what you think.

By the way, Fetching Communications did the branding and logo/tag design.  Isn’t it cute!

Chilly & Kristen's pet-friendly Toyota Sequoia

At last! I took delivery of my 2011 Toyota Sequoia Platinum Edition last week.  Let me just say, this SUV is one bad mamma-jamma. I can’t wait to show you why this is the best large SUV pick for pet owners!

Chilly (my 1 year old lab mix) and I will travel from Tampa to Denver and back in December to set an example for pet parents who want to know how to travel safely with their pets in vehicles.

Chilly just placed his order with Kurgo for a Tru-Fit Harness and Zip Line so he can safely enjoy the ride in the back seat.  As soon as it arrives, we’ll install it and show you how it works!

In case you missed it, since July, I’ve had the way-cool honor and opportunity to serve on the Toyota P.E.T. (pet expert team), along with five other influential pet experts across the U.S.  Collectively, we’ll be sharing our knowledge and expertise  with Toyota to help them develop programs and communications to effectively teach pet parents the importance of pet restraint during auto travel.

We’ll also be meeting pet owners one on one at various events around the country to show them first hand, Toyota’s attention to de-tail when it comes to safety for our pets. Maybe we’ll see you!

Toyota’s mission–to educate American consumers surrounding the importance of properly protecting and securing pets in automobiles and align this initiative with Toyota’s vehicle safety features.

See our P.E.T. team in action with Toyota and Kurgo during an immersion event last July in Torrance, California. The video is courtesy of Sandy Robins, noted pet lifestyle expert and journalist. Other members of the P.E.T. team include Stacy Mantle, Greg Kleva, Harrison Forbes and Megan Blake.

Chilly chomps on a pork chomp!

I read a thought-provoking story recently that I’d like to share with you. Gene Costain, a journalism professor at the University of Tampa penned a feature entitled New moral boundaries for our 4-legged friends. It weaves together recent instances of high publicity animal abuses to showcase the resulting strides animal advocacy made, demonstrating our nation’s growing compassion for abused, unwanted or neglected animals.

Costain believes there is a paradigm shift in the attitudes about animals and the level of tolerance we have for abusers and irresponsible pet owners. He also predicts the pet industry will experience exponential growth when this ‘bone-chilling recession finally ends’.

Clearly, a journalism professor isn’t qualified to predict such a reverie, but he could be on to something.

In a 2007 market forecast predating the economic downfall, the American Pet Products Association (APPA) predicted Americans would spend $43 billion by 2011, (a 3.4% annual growth rate). Today, knee deep in economic distress, the actual pet spend will significantly surpass that estimate by over $4 billion.

So, the industry as a whole is performing better than APPA predicted, even before we realized the how deep the waters of the economic collapse would be.

That realization, along with Costain’s forecast is a real puppy-upper as we prepare to close out 2010. I hope it energizes you as you think about your marketing opportunities for next year!

As a whole, the retail market looks vastly different than it did just a year ago and the pet industry has not been immune to the change.  But, even with the ever changing state of the economy, one thing we know for sure is that people are still spending money on their pets. However, the real challenge for retailers and suppliers today is learning what shoppers want and expect from their favorite stores and brands.

Taking on that challenge and a variety of others currently affecting the pet industry, are two of the most respected sources of information in the pet industry, Pet Business magazine and the American Pet Products Association.  They have joined together to present the first Petailing Leadership Conference to be held October 27-28, 2010.

This two-day event, taking place at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, is the pet industry’s leading conference designed to educate pet retail and supplier executives.  It will cover all aspects of the pet industry including a “State of the Industry” report from David Lummis, senior pet market analyst with Packaged Facts, a division of the Media Research Group.

According to Craig Rexford, publisher of Pet Business magazine, an important way for retailers to succeed is to observe what others do and learn from their actions. And it is his hope that attendees of the Petailing Leadership Conference will have that opportunity and will walk away with the ABCs of navigating a successful pet business in the 21st century.

The conference will feature breakout sessions on topics including: developing a retail strategy and brand, leveraging wholesalers and distributors, using social media to grow your business and utilizing customer experience insights to increase revenue.  Along with plenty of networking opportunities, those who attend the conference will have the opportunity to sit in on a retailer/supplier partnership case study presentation by executives at Nestle Purina. Informative keynote speakers and a retail panel with pet chain, pet specialty, mass and grocery leaders on competition and growth in the industry will round out the event.

There have been a lot of changes in the pet industry in recent years, forcing every segment from food to grooming to accessories to become more knowledgeable and provide better quality products. In addition, there is a much more competitive landscape today; retailers can no longer afford to be borderline, better education and service will be key to their success.

Attendees of the Petailing Leadership Conference will hear from key industry insiders and experts on various topics that concern retailers and suppliers in the pet industry.  For more information including registration and sponsorship opportunities visit: www.Petailing2010.com.

Just a week ago I was thinking about how relaxing this year’s SuperZoo show would be compared to previous trade shows.  It seemed like this year’s show would be more laid back in terms of meeting with clients and exploring new opportunities.

Now, just 7 days later, I am wide-eyed, staring at our multi-page agenda for Monday-Thursday! It’s humanly impossible to accomplish all of this without a Segway and a vitamin and caffine mainline!

But, I admit, now I’m getting excited about the show!  I’ll kick it off with a 4:30am media call time on Tuesday for the Vegas FOX affiliate, followed by two full days of show walking, media tours for clients, lunches with prospects and happy hours with colleagues.  If I’m not to tired, I have to introduce Katherine to the wonderful world of Cirque du Solei.

Yeah, life’s rough!  It will be a Super Zoo indeed!

My advice to anyone attending SuperZoo, HH Backer or any other pet trade shows coming up, make sure you have a plan. Outline what you must accomplish and what you hope to accomplish. Be sure to allow for all that foot travel time on the show floor. Drink lots of water (it’s Vegas baby…. if the air doesn’t dry you out, the cocktails will!)

Have fun. Maybe I’ll see you there!

The Internet has rapidly shifted the face of business in this challenging economic environment and businesses are searching for ways to reach potential clients in a cost-effective manner. Emarketing, paired with a strategic Social Media plan, make a powerful combination. These avenues work closely together to drive present and potential consumers to your site.

The sites we develop in partnership with our clients are smart, Brand centric and interactive to create a positive engaging environment that leads to ongoing success. We never build sites based on existing templates as our clients are in search of a unique online experience and not a me-too approach. However, many of our clients want to be able to take control of their sites and manage the content once the site is complete. So, we have found a powerful yet easy to use content management system that meets their needs yet does not limit our creativity.

Once we have built and launched a new site, we must help to get the word out that it’s up and running and open for business. That’s where SEO, PPC and Social Media come into play. Our crack team will craft a plan that makes sense, is manageable and most importantly effective. Too many clients go down the path without a true plan in place and that leads to lost hours and inefficiency.

SEO or Search Engine Optimization, is the “organic” approach to gaining visibility for a web site on the major search engines such as Google and Bing. Although this methodology for marketing takes some time to take root, the payoffs can be great. When you consider the way that consumers are not searching for products and services, it only makes sense that you capture your share of the pie. If your site is not properly set up and maintained, you will miss out on this opportunity. No matter how wonderful of a site your company possesses, if you’re not visible, your losing business. Let us show you how to climb the SEO ranks to get the visibility you deserve.

PPC or Pay-Per-Click marketing is another avenue worth exploring to help increase immediate traffic to your site. Bear in mind that PPC may not work for all clients, but SEO does. PPC works best for clients who need to gain quicker visibility on the search engines through a bidding process for key terms for your business services and products. PPC works extremely well for a businesses that have special offers and incentives. When consumers are actively searching for something they need now, PPC helps to get you in front of that consumer now.

When you take each of these marketing components and you strategically develop a plan to set up and integrated marketing effort online, the results can be remarkable. So if your looking for a team of specialists to move the needle for your online presence, look no further. We know pet business and we know web.

Examples of sites we’ve developed recently:

www.nekohabitat.com

www.petpartnersusa.com

www.fetchingcommunications.com

www.charlestonvsc.com (in development)

Brian Solis has a “must follow” blog about emerging media.  Here is an  post excerpt about a recent CMO survey conducted by Duke University and the American Marketing Association. They predict social media budgets will spike this year, as they’ve almost nearly doubled in the past 12 months.

The spirit of social media is enlivening industries, refreshing marketing, and humanizing businesses. While the steps to the social revolution are gradual, so are the budgets that fund innovation. Progress is underway however, and with every experiment and pilot program, we learn the answers to the questions that serve as the gateways to change.

Early experiments are sparked within various forward-looking divisions and funded by other resident or surrounding programs or departments. As social media permeates and socializes the frameworks of the modern businesses, finances and supporting resources will shift to advance expansion.

A recent study conducted by Duke University and the American Marketing Association documented the rise of hiring, budgets, and social media spend over next year.

According to the 2010 CMO Survey, on average, CMOs expect to increase marketing budgets by 5.9% citing social media as a crucial slice of the Internet marketing mix.

The rest of this post…

Jim Bancroft and his dog Winston in his pet carrier outside the JFK terminal on their way to fly to Rochester.

I can’t help it. I still get giddy when I see our own clients in print–especially when the story is one that makes life easier or more convenient for pet parents. So please indulge me and our client, Sherpa Pet Group, (in partnership with Petco, Delta, American and United) by reading the following story that recently appeared in the NY Daily News.

If you have a small dog or cat that travels with you on board the plane, you’ll find information about the Guaranteed on Board program, at www.sherpapet.com.

I have the exciting honor of serving on Toyota’s pet expert advisory program. I’m in Torrence, CA for two days to learn about Toyota’s current pet safety initiatives and to work with their safety team to identify new safety features and creature comforts for new generations of Toyota cars, SUVs and crossover models.

I’d love to hear your pet tales or ‘ails’ about auto travel with your dog or cat.  I’m here along with 5 other pet loving lifestyle experts to make the auto a safer, comfier place for Fido and Fluffy!

Anxious to hear your input.

kristen@fetchingcommunications.com