Among the actions of the #MeugatoNoVet campaign, the brand will perform digital activation in Paulista with images posted by tutors on Instagram
Royal Canin is launching another edition of the #MeuGatoNoVet campaign, a global initiative of the brand that takes place for the fourth consecutive year in Brazil. It seeks to draw the attention of tutors to the care they must have with felines, animals that do not usually show discomfort in the early stages of disease.
In a context of growth in the number of adoptions, driven by the pandemic and with first-time tutors, initiatives of this kind contribute to a better relationship.
“The pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to everyone and isolation has made many people look to pets for company and comfort in this difficult time. We understand that more than ever, the awareness of tutors about the health of pets must be continuous, which is why the #MeuGatoNoVet campaign is so important for the brand”, says Carlos Martella, marketing director at Royal Canin.
For this year, it presents a webseries, divided into four episodes and which brings stories of real characters, available on its digital platforms; and offers a free intensive “Cat BootCamp” course on cat-friendly practices for professionals.
It also has an activation on Avenida Paulista, in São Paulo, between June 3rd and 5th, to reinforce the message. The idea is to print a screen at Shopping Cidade de São Paulo with photos of animals posted by their tutors on their Instagram feed using #MeuGatoNoVet – the profile must be open. With each post, the brand promises to donate 1kg of food to partner NGOs.
These are initiatives that contribute to Royal Canin’s strategy of connecting with tutors and the cattery market, today with a population of 23.9 million animals, according to data from Abinpet (Brazilian Association of the Pet Products Industry) . In addition, in 10 years, according to estimates, cats should become the predominant pets in the country, surpassing dogs.
What results has the brand noticed so far with the #MeuGatoNoVet campaign? How have you collaborated to attract the attention of tutors in relation to animals?
Over these four years we have had many changes in society. The pandemic brought never-before-seen challenges for everyone and isolation caused many people to seek company and comfort in this difficult time. We at Royal Canin understand that more than ever, the awareness of tutors about the health of pets must be continuous, which is why the #MeuGatoNoVet campaign is so important to the brand. During this period, we saw the cat population grow in Brazilian homes, reaching almost 24 million, and we realized that, even so, 40% of tutors put off going to the vet. That’s why we invest in the education of tutors and we can already see positive changes within our society. Nowadays there is much more information about felines, veterinary clinics have been better prepared to receive cats, among other improvements. Of course, we can’t attribute all these changes to the campaign alone, but we believe that we helped start this change in the sphere of the “cat” market.
The cat market has grown over the years and the Northeast has a greater number of cats compared to the southeastern states. What are the brand’s strategies to dialogue with tutors and be more present in the lives of these pets?
Nowadays the digital channel allows us to reach a greater number of people and we are betting on that. We seek to bring more diversity to our communications, with profiles of tutors that represent the plurality of a country as large as Brazil.
Today, what is the size of this “public” among Royal Canin’s customers and what is the brand’s market share in this segment? Where do you want to go?
Our focus is to deliver health through nutrition to all the pets we feed. Today, according to Euromonitor data, we represent 7.9% of the total cat market, but our main objective is to reach the largest possible number of gatekeepers, even if they are not consumers of our brand, to reinforce the importance of preventive care, attention to the signs that felines show, in addition to always consulting the veterinarian, who is the greatest ally in this cause. Our goal is to support feline health and make the world a better place for them.
How much has the brand invested in products for the “cat market”? In what kind of product and solution?
Our aim today is to offer products that deliver health through nutrition, with the aim of building the health category within Royal Canin. Since the second half of 2021 we have brought innovative launches, focused on bringing more quality of life to pets with digestive and dermatological sensitivities, we have launched new wet food textures, which help keep felines hydrated and brought to the Brazilian market the first food to aid in the diagnosis of food allergies, Analergenic. We also had the launch of new products from the Veterinary Gastrointestinal line, for cats that suffer from digestive disorders, such as constipation and liver disease.
