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CBI Presentation: Animal Health Marketing Strategies Presentation

Last Thursday evening I drove to Baltimore to present at the Center for Business Intelligence’s Premier Summit on Animal Health Marketing Strategies.  My job was to present case studies that might prove relevant for the audience of marketing decision-makers.  Thankfully, it was well received!

After creating over 125 animal health initiatives (yes, I’ve counted), at first it was a tough call to figure out which campaigns to highlight.  I decided to showcase 4 campaigns that are in different “lifestages” to demonstrate what can happen when a creative message backed by research and effective partnerships is created — and given time to mature in the marketplace.

The longest campaign,  “Pets Need Dental Care, Too!” — now in its 14th year, is sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the American Veterinary Dental Society (AVDS) and Hill’s Pet Nutrition to educate veterinarians and the public about dental care for pets.  I am especially proud of the campaign for two reasons.  First, it established the dental category and is still going strong, and two, it was created and executed with an outstanding group of individuals.

The next campaign was “KNOW Heartworms” — an initiative to educate veterinarians and the public about feline heartworm disease or heartworm associated respiratory disease syndrome or (HARD).  Next came highlights of the CATalyst Council, to raise the stature of the cat.  The AVMA had just come out with some stark statistics about cats via its Pet Owner Survey and this was a good follow-up to the KNOW Heartworms campaign to educate about the cat.  Finally, I wrapped up with the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, an initiative we were involved with early on and now have been re-engaged. 

These campaigns were/are successful because of the partnerships, the collaborations, the science and industry support to bring solid information to veterinarians and the public. 

What’s next on the horizon?  Stay tuned or email me at lgerminder@germinder.com.