Today's advertising landscape is more cluttered than ever. From mobile devices, to TVs, to laptops, consumers are often spreading their attention across multiple screens at once. As a result, it can be challenging for brands to drive sales, even if their products support critical areas of a consumer’s day-to-day life, such as taking care of family, friends, or pets.

While it can be difficult to stand out, there is a reliable way for brands to break through: foster authentic, engaging connections with consumers.

With this in mind, pet wellness brand GREENIES™, known for its dog dental treats, prepared for the launch of its new SMART ESSENTIALS™ dry dog food and SMART TOPPERS™ meal complement line.

The dog food market is bursting at the seams, so when GREENIES wanted to introduce SMART ESSENTIALS and SMART TOPPERS in this crowded space, they knew they had to break through the clutter, distinguish the brand from competitors and encourage trial. Furthermore, they wanted to achieve these goals in a fun, engaging and personalized manner that stayed true to the brand and fostered meaningful conversations with consumers.

Their solution? A first-of-its-kind, AI-powered “dog interpreter” tool.
 

Using innovation and personalization to foster brand love

GREENIES set out to develop a campaign that would effectively reach Millennials, who represented the largest share of U.S. pet owners in 2023.[1] Millennials, in particular, value input from fellow consumers, with 8 in 10 saying they would never buy something without first reading a review.[2]

Using generative AI on Amazon Bedrock and Rekognition technology, customers scan their dogs eating GREENIES SMART ESSENTIALS kibble. Then, the AI technology generates a “translation” of what the dog thinks about the meal.

“We wanted to do something innovative and interactive that would raise awareness and convert to sales,” says GREENIES brand manager, McKenzie Beaver. “Amazon Ads came up with the breakthrough campaign, ‘Dogs Write Reviews,’ where dogs can ‘provide’ a ‘review’ of the product to their owners. While of course, the tool can’t actually read dogs’ minds, it’s a fun way for pet parents to imagine what those tail wags and drools might mean when translated into human-speak.” 

Crafting a breakthrough launch campaign

These insights guided GREENIES as they partnered with Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab to recommend a full-funnel marketing campaign. The goal was to boost awareness and engagement for the new SMART ESSENTIALS line, fostering loyalty and brand love among pet owners.

Once the dog interpreter was developed, GREENIES activated the campaign across a range of Amazon touchpoints including streaming TV ads, audio ads, online video ads and DSP media that drove consumers to the GREENIES SMART ESSENTIALS custom brand Store page, which featured the GREENIES Dog Interpreter.

“Our goal was to build a campaign that was innovative and would reach and engage pet shoppers, and also help Greenies drive brand loyalty,” says Amazon Ads Brand Innovation Lab program manager, Maggie Gradala. “And to help encourage repeat purchases, the campaign also rewarded participants with a $5 off credit for a future purchase of GREENIES SMART ESSENTIALS dry dog food or SMART TOPPER meal complement.”

“I couldn’t be happier that we decided to take this out-of-the-box approach, using AI to create buzz around dog food. It’s been exciting to see our joyful, witty brand come to life through an interactive activation and we’re thrilled with the business results it has begun to generate,” says Beaver. 

Consider:

• Using a comprehensive full-funnel approach across multiple touchpoints such as video, audio and Sponsored ads to authentically reach and connect with consumers.
• Leaning into advanced technologies like AI to create engaging, personalized consumer experiences.
• Weaving elements of whimsy and fun into your campaign as it can supercharge engagement.

For more tips and solutions for grocery marketing, visit Amazon Ads.