Dive Brief:

• Spot Pet Insurance is using Cameo for Business to launch a celebrity campaign to promote the service, according to a press release.
• The campaign was developed with agency Swidia and features celebrity names such as Lindsay Lohan, Gabby Douglas and Erin Andrews. Each Cameo has the celebrity explaining what pet ownership means to them and reflects on past experiences with their pets. Featuring 25 celebrities in total, the campaign kicks off on April 21.
• Cameo for Business enables marketers to connect with celebrities for marketing campaigns. As the platform looks to expand, such campaigns will help raise its profile with marketers. The short, social media-friendly videos can help growing brands like Spot Pet Insurance boost awareness among consumers.

Dive Insight:

Spot's use of Cameo for Business to help the brand go viral is indicative of Cameo's shifting business model to expand beyond celebrity videos to include ad content and metaverse initiatives. Cameo for Business was launched in 2020 and has been used by a variety of companies. The platform allows brands like Spot to test both messages and talent to see what resonates best with consumers. The company also help businesses to create concepts and select talent that fits their market.

The platform gained popularity for allowing average people to hire celebrities to make short videos, usually as gifts for family and friends. The company has recently announced plans for an NFT membership program and a foray into the metaverse. Cameo for Business is intended to provide advertisers with a data-driven way of identifying which messaging and celebrities work best for the brand.

Cameo's decision to work with brands comes as a time as short-form videos become more important in the social media space and gain popularity. The video-sharing site TikTok dethroned Google as the most visited site in 2021. The ad revenue generated by the site is anticipated to surpass the combined revenues of Twitter and Snapchat combined. An increasing number of companies have relied on the app to go viral, mostly through influencer campaigns.

Founded in 2019, Spot provides insurance packages for both dogs and cats. Currently, the pet insurance market is valued at $8.3 billion and has a projected annual growth rate of 16.7% from 2022 to 2030. This growth is largely driven by the explosion in pet ownership seen during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.