You may be thinking, “He has finally lost it, infomercials? Really?”. The answer is “yes”. Let me explain.

According to Global Industry Analysts, Inc. the US Market for infomercial products is projected to grow to $252 billion by 2015. For those of you paying attention that is a whopping 5 X the entire pet industry! The word infomercial conjures up visions of cheap, garbage products hawked by loud mouth spokes people. Now this still exists, but so do more sophisticated infomercials by well respected brands like Bose. See the Bose example in the video below.

What is driving the growth of infomercials? Primarily the lackluster economy. GIA, Inc. lists the following…

1) More people are staying home increasing the need for entertainment products.
2) Consumers are preparing their meals at home increasing the need for food processing, knives, etc.
3) The convenience of being able to shop from home – hassle free.

What does this mean to you as a Pet Product manufacturer? Well, a lot.

If your product is really problem/solution and easy and fun to demonstrate infomercials may be for you. Infomercials put the power back in your hands and the hands of the consumer and away from the retailer. You build the demand with the consumer via :60 spots on TV along with an 1-800 number and direct response style website to take orders. The beauty? Retailers will come to you after consumers start coming into their stores looking for your product. It’s a great model. It brings things back to the way they should be. The manufacturer has the power. The retailer simply becomes a means of distributing a product.

It is getting harder and harder to get distribution in the pet industry. Even if you are lucky enough to get a pet chain to take a shot on your product, what happens next? How will you promote it? Most people don’t know how or have the funding to do so.

Now, let’s get real. Infomercials aren’t cheap. The costs to go in this direction are about…

1) TV Production $15 – $25,000
2) Media test $10 – $15,000 for 1 week
3) Fulfillment and Call Center Set up and ongoing order taking $3 – $6k/month

So your upfront expenses are going to be somewhere between $30 – $50k. Sound like a lot? It is. But what is the cost of spinning your wheels and getting nowhere?

BUT… if you are successful and do all of your homework up front you can be profitable and drive brand awareness at the same time.

Oh, and just about every retailer today has an “As Seen on TV” section – including both Petsmart & Petco. It’s a great way to side step the whole process and let the consumer decide.

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Here are what I believe to be the most important components of a successful pet product…

Product (25%) – This is the actual product itself.  It needs to be great.  It needs to be better than great!  It needs to be the BEST product in its category to break through.  The product component is very important but still only 25% of the overall success.

Brand Name (15%) – Your brand name is extremely important and it should be benefit driven.  In other words, the name should describe what the product does or its main benefit.  If you have an unlimited marketing budget you can name it something abstract and create the meaning behind it.  Also, keep it simple – 1 to 2 syllables and easy to spell.

# of SKUs (10%) – You need between 12 – 18 SKUs to create a real line in the mind of a retail buyer.  Use sizes, flavors, shapes, scents, colors, etc. to get there.  One SKU products are great for infomercials but not for retail.  You need a brand block on shelf to be successful.

Rep (15%) – The ability of your rep to get an appointment with key retail buyers is very important to your success.  If your current rep can’t get you the appointment, get a new one.  Also, make sure you go with your rep on the first few calls to key accounts so you get the feedback first hand.

Packaging (20%) – You may be surprised that I give packaging a 20% contribution to your success – don’t be.  Yes it is almost as important as the greatness of your product.  If your packaging sucks so will your sales.  Create a great package.  Don’t settle for second best or sloppy packaging.  Get a professional to design it.  A lot of professional designers do freelance work for as little as $40/hour.  Go out and find one.

Marketing (20%) – How good is your marketing plan?  Will it drive trade and consumer awareness enough to get noticed and get people to buy?  It better or you will be out of business in 6 months.  Marketing & PR are just as important as ever.  In the world of YouTube, Facebook & Twitter it is never been easier or less expensive to reach your target audience where they gather.

Well, there you have it – the Anatomy of a Successful Pet Product.  How does your product stack up?

Need help?  We offer a 30 minute FREE consult.  Just contact us to set an appointment.

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I want to spread the word about the Pet Marketing blog.  I just submitted my blog to Technorati this morning and hope to get listed.  They require a code in a post to verify that I am the owner.  My code happens to be M8RSU2T7FGKC.

Have you listed your blog at Technorati?  You should. For more details visit http://technorati.com/.

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If you have a pet business and want to know more about what it takes to be successful you MUST watch my video, ‘Confessions of a Pet Product Marketer’. It’s FREE, Informative and a little Fun!

What I’ll Cover…

Sales Confessions

Know the Account You are Selling
Do Pet Products Sell Themselves?
Relationships are Everything
The Fate of One SKU Lines
Getting Distribution is Only 1/2 the Battle
Pet Trade Advertising
Is Innovation an Advantage?

Marketing Confessions

Does a Great Pet Product Need Marketing?
Image is Everything
Sales First, Marketing Second : A Flawed Strategy
Are Pet Products Price Inelastic?
Award Winning Products and Sales Results
How to Create a Great Pet Brand
Packaging: The Silent Salesperson

Here’s the link. Pet Product Marketing Video. If it doesn’t work the first time, shut down your browser and try again. The software is free but it is a little temperamental. Let me know if you have any questions in the comments field. Thanks!

John
Bulldog

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You’ve Read the whitepaper now join the live Webinar! John Cullen, pet industry veteran and principal of Bulldog Marketing & Sales, Inc. will have a live webinar on his top downloaded whitepaper, ‘Confessions of a Pet Product Marketer’. Learn from a Pet Product Marketing & Sales Veteran and start selling more pet products!

Sign up for the FREE Pet Product Marketing & Sales Webinar Today and sell more tomorrow!

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Website Becomes an Online Marketing Resource for Pet Product Manufacturers

Bronx, NY – (August 9, 2011) Bulldog Marketing & Sales, Inc. (http://www.bulldogms.com) today announced the launch of its new website www.bulldogms.com. Bulldog is the Pet Product Marketing and Sales agency formed by pet industry veteran John Cullen to give entrepreneurs, start-ups, and small and mid-sized organizations access to top level marketing talent without the huge overhead.

“We wanted to create an interactive website to engage product manufactures by discussing their marketing challenges,” says John Cullen, Bulldog’s Principal. “We intend to keep the website fresh with marketing tips and advice from our years of experience in bringing new pet products to market.” You can visit Bulldog’s Pet Product Marketing Blog at http://www.bulldogms.com/blog-page/. In addition to a blog where pet product manufacturers can ask questions and received free advice, the website offers the renowned whitepaper, ‘Confessions of a Pet Product Marketer’ which is full of information about how to market and sell pet products. The whitepaper is FREE and can be found at http://www.bulldogms.com/confessions/.

About Bulldog Marketing & Sales, Inc.
Bulldog Marketing & Sales, Inc. was formed in 2009 and has over 15 years of marketing and sales experience ranging from marketing strategy to new product development and retail sell-in. Bulldog is the only pet product marketing and sales agency that fully understands the manufacturer’s point of view. It has increased sales and developed new products for the Fortune 500 as well as for start-ups. Bulldog specializes in bringing white paper concepts into production and ultimately to retail shelves. It knows how to help manufacturers win at the First Moment of Truth and beyond. Marketing expertise includes: Pet Products, Consumer Packaged Goods and Consumer Electronics. Sales experience includes: Pet Chain, Pet Specialty, Consumer Electronics Chains, Food, Mass, Drug and Club. Bulldog is headquartered in the Bronx, NY – eleven miles north of mid-town Manhattan. For more information, visit www.bulldogms.com.

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That’s the Bulldog Difference! We understand your perspective. Why is this important? You probably already know. Traditional ad agencies have their own agenda and they have no idea what it’s like on a Petco sales call! They also like to treat every client like they are Procter & Gamble (and try to bill you that way too!). The world has changed and many agencies haven’t. Most companies simply don’t have the budget for a large TV campaign to drive awareness. But if all you have is a hammer, every solution is a nail.

Bulldog is run by experienced pet product manufacturers — not advertising people. We get it that small companies need sales and very efficient marketing that makes the cash register ring. Our minimum retainer is only $500/month for 5 hours. If you want to go over those hours we bill you at $75/hour to keep your project on track. Take a look at all of the FREE Pet Product Marketing information on this website – does that sound like your current marketing firm? Why not contact us for FREE 30 minute consultation? We’ve been known to give a lot away during that ½ hour. Hope to speak with you soon.

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Check it out.

Bulldog Marketing & Sales, Inc. T-shirt!

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In my last post we looked at a 30,000 feet view of the pet business. We discussed your passion for your new pet product and how you believe everyone will want one. In Part 2, I want to look a little closer at specific categories and put them into 2 buckets…

1. Highly competitive – enter with caution
2. Moderately competitive – You could get in

Now, all of this is predicated on how unique your item truly is. If you have the greatest new dog food with a unique, patented ingredient no one else can get for a few years, then yes you MAY be able to get into the dog food business. Be honest with yourself – is your item really just a me-to? If so, re-think how you could create something really unique. Most of this is really marketing 101, but I am tailoring it to the pet business. So here we go in terms of the buckets…I am not going to cover every single category, but some of the top ones. If you have specific questions about a category – leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

1. Highly competitive – enter with caution
Pet Food – Any – dog, cat, bird, etc.
Collars/Leashes
Apparell – dog clothes is a really difficult business because of sizing. Then it all comes back full of hair!
Crates/containment
Fish Tanks, filters, etc.
Any electronics product – it’s not really that competitive, but I put it here because electronics products for pets typically DON’T SELL!
Vitamins
Flea & Tick
Rawhide
Poop bags and dispensers

2. Moderately competitive – You could get in with the right items
Treats – there seems to be an openness to new and different treats, even with the big names dominating the top spots.
Toys – retailers want to be fresh. Fact is, pets, like kids get bored with the same old toys, so a fresh inventory of new ideas is always needed.
ID tags – again, consumers love variety here. Probably is that it is typically one and done. No need for a new tag after one is purchased.

So where does your new pet product fall? 1 or 2? In my next post, I’ll go into what need once you have selected your product and category. We’ll talk about branding and packaging as well as the retail environment and what it takes to get noticed. Have a question? Leave a comment.

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We’ve just become certified to offer SEO and SEM services!

Do you need your website optimized? Do you need help with your Googld Adwords Pay-Per Click account? Contact us for a quote.

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