Affiliate Marketing, Insights

The Power of Working with Pet Partners

Summary (TL;DR):

Partnering with pet influencers is a creative way for non-pet brands to connect with emotionally engaged audiences. With 66% of U.S. households owning pets, and pet-related content achieving higher social media engagement, pets help brands tap into a loyal consumer base. Major companies like Coca-Cola, Subaru, and IKEA have successfully leveraged pets to enhance brand image and expand reach. Pets evoke positive emotions and avoid the scrutiny human influencers face, making them a valuable marketing tool. Whether promoting pet-friendly products, wellness, or travel gear, using pets aligns with themes of loyalty and comfort, boosting consumer resonance and brand loyalty.

Key Takeaways:

  • Engages wider audiences, even for non-pet products.
  • Pet content boosts social media engagement (up to 295% more comments).
  • Brands like Coca-Cola and IKEA use pet-focused campaigns to strengthen brand appeal.
  • With 66% of U.S. households owning pets, pet-centric marketing taps into a loyal consumer base.
  • Yields high engagement and attracts qualified leads.
  • Pets are less scrutinized than human influencers this fosters a positive brand perception.

When recruiting for your affiliate program, we encourage you to expand your reach beyond the obvious partners.

Let’s consider the power of pets or more specifically pet influencers as partners. Before you bow out of this post because your brand has nothing to do with four-legged friends, hear us out.

We’re pet lovers at ReferTrack. Our furry friends are family. As pet parents, there’s little we wouldn’t do for our dogs and cats (maybe even lizards, snakes, rabbits, and squirrels). And we are not alone. As veteran marketers, we know people’s love and loyalty for their pets leads consumers to make a lot of purchases that extend far beyond pet food, toys, and gear. Been there; done that.

Pet owners often look to buy a wide variety of items that make their lives with pets easier -think human bedding, rain jackets/outwear, footwear, hotel stays, vehicles, rugs, furniture, vacuums, and so much more. They also tend to identify with brands that use pets in their marketing.

Leveraging pet influencers can be a highly creative and effective way to promote a non-pet-related brand. Pet influencers, with their loyal followings and adorable content, offer a unique opportunity to connect with audiences on an emotional level. And who doesn’t love cute dog and cat pics?

Big Brands 

What do Coca-Cola, Amazon, Coors Light, Electronic Arts, Target, Wayfair, Subaru, Budweiser, Starbucks, IKEA, Samsung, Chex Mix, Bounce, Apple, Stain Master, Litter Genie, CapitalOne, Chase, Old Navy, and the GAP have in common? Besides, being household names and hugely successful businesses, those companies (and so many more) are all non-pet brands that have used pets in their marketing.

Car maker Subaru's “Dog Tested. Dog Approved.” campaign features dogs in various driving scenarios, highlighting the brand's pet-friendly vehicles. This approach resonates with pet owners, reinforcing Subaru's image as a pet-friendly and pet-safe brand.

IKEA shed light on the common woes of pet owners with furry mischief-makers. The furniture retail giant used different scenarios to highlight the affordability of its products, assuring pet owners that they can afford to replace whatever was broken. This expanded IKEA’s customer base.

The Numbers 

  • An estimated 66% of U.S. households, about 86.9 million families, own a pet, according to the 2023-2024 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association (APPA). 
  • As many as one in three people adopted a pet during the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • On Instagram, brands have observed up to a staggering 295% surge in comments on content featuring pets, according to NewsWhip.
  • Pet-related content generates 2.5 times more engagement on social media than non-pet content, according to Mightily.
  • Pets have been shown to improve social media engagement rates, which according to Nichefire, can rise up to 63% higher than those for the average business post

Effectiveness of Pet Partnerships for Non-Pet Products

Positive Brand Image -The bottom line is, humans and animals share an emotional connection and this love for pets can be seen everywhere on social media. Pictures and videos of cuddly animals work as stimuli to generate warm and happy feelings. Working with pet influencers leverages this capacity of animals. 

Result: This can drive your brand awareness and engender positive feelings about your brand.

Generate Higher Engagement – Pet influencers can be categorized as micro-influencers, macro-influencers, or mega-influencers. Many have thousands of followers and a few of them have already crossed the million mark. These numbers not only indicate their popularity but the wider audience that can be reached by investing in pet influencer marketing. Anecdotally, some experts say that when you compare a human influencer and a pet influencer with the same number of followers, pets score higher on engagement. 

Result: Better engagement indicates that more people are showing interest in what you have to offer and opens a door for you to have further conversations with your target audience.

Help Generate Better Leads – Pets have the ability to make your posts go viral. They can get people talking about your products as much as or even more than human influencers. Mars Petcare US says that 30% of pet owners follow celebrity pets on social media. Many more may follow several micro pet influencers too. Pet owners who follow these accounts on social media may go ahead and try the promoted brands.

Result: When potential consumers are engaged with a trusted source, they tend to buy more and be more qualified as leads for future purchases.

Less Likely to Trigger Negative Emotions – While followers may scrutinize the personal lives, actions, and decisions of human influencers, the chances of them doing so for pet influencers are a lot less. This has a direct implication on how users respond to the brands these influencers are promoting.

Result: Pets lead a simple and lovable life and are less likely to trigger negative emotions in their followers. That means they successfully create a positive image for your brand.

Need Inspiration?

Here are some creative ideas or how a non-pet brand could collaborate with pet partners to promote products, even if the connection doesn’t seem immediately obvious.

Take a “Pet-Friendly” Angle – If you sell home decor or furniture, you could collaborate with a pet influencer to showcase your products in a pet-friendly home environment. A cute dog lounging on a stylish sofa can subtly communicate comfort and durability, qualities pet owners appreciate. Car makers can partner with a pet influencer to show how spacious and pet-friendly their vehicles are, with features like easy-to-clean interiors, comfortable space for pets, and safety measures for traveling with pets.

Promote Health and Wellness (for Humans and Pets) – Brands in the health and wellness space – from fitness products to nutrition supplements – can tie into the idea that happy, healthy pet owners mean happier pets. A fitness brand could team up with a pet influencer to show how a healthy lifestyle (yoga, running, hiking) improves not only human health but also gives pets more active and fulfilling lives.

Cozy and Relaxation Themes – Pets are often associated with comfort, warmth, and coziness. If your brand sells relaxation-focused products like candles, bath products, or bedding, you can use pets to reinforce a cozy lifestyle. Partner with a pet influencer to show a cute scene of a pet lounging near your luxury bedding or enjoying a quiet moment while their owner relaxes with your aromatherapy candles.

Adventure and Travel Partnerships – If your brand is connected to travel or outdoor activities, pet influencers who frequently showcase adventures can be a perfect match. A luggage brand could work with a pet influencer to demonstrate how easy it is to travel with your gear, especially when bringing along your pet for the adventure. Pets could be shown next to, or interacting with, the luggage in scenic travel locations.

Celebrating Special Occasions – Pets are often part of family celebrations, so using pet influencers in the context of holidays or special occasions can link your product to joyful, shared experiences. A jewlery brand could partner with pet influencers to celebrate milestone moments like birthdays, anniversaries, or even pet adoption days. The pet influencer could show how pets are part of these special memories, featuring your product as part of the celebration.

Sustainability and Eco-Friendliness – If your brand emphasizes sustainability, using pet influencers can tie into the eco-friendly lifestyle many pet owners care about. An eco-friendly clothing brand could show pets interacting with recycled fabrics or sustainable materials, with a focus on reducing their environmental pawprint.

Fashion Collaborations with Pet Influencers – Fashion brands, even those not related to pets, can leverage the playful and charming nature of pet influencers to promote style and personality. A fashion brand could team up with a pet influencer, dressing the pet’s owner in the latest collection while the pet features in the same shot. The campaign can emphasize how style is about personality and can include all members of the family – even pets.

Tech Products for Pet Owners -If you sell tech gadgets like smart home devices, wearables, or anything designed to improve convenience, pet influencers can demonstrate how your product helps their owners stay connected and make their lives easier. A smart home product company can partner with a pet influencer to show how their security cameras help keep an eye on pets while the owner is away.

Human-Pet Bond as a Metaphor – If your product helps strengthen relationships or builds connection, use the human-pet bond as a metaphor for reliability, trust, or loyalty in your brand messaging. A financial services company can collaborate with a pet influencer to show how trust and security – whether with finances or with a beloved pet – are essential for peace of mind.

By creatively aligning your brand’s values with the themes of loyalty, comfort, adventure, and family that pets naturally represent, you can effectively reach new audiences through pet influencers, even if your product isn’t directly related to pets. The key is to tap into the emotional connection that pets foster with their followers and apply those positive associations to your brand.