Every day, consumers are bombarded by a slew of marketing messages, deals and offers. To stand out in a crowded marketing ecosystem, some brands and retailers are embracing experiential marketing.
Milo’s Kitchen, a brand of dog treats from Big Heart Pet Brands, recently went on tour with a food truck for canines to educate consumers about its line of products. The Milo’s Kitchen TreatTruck toured 15 cities across the U.S., encouraging pet parents and their furry children to try out the latest snacks.
“Experiential marketing is definitely a growing and important trend,” said Melinda Winter, Director of Pet Snacks at Big Heart Pet Brands. “But we really went out with this food truck because we felt it was the best way to effectively talk about our products.”
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Not only did the tour increase brand awareness and affinity, it also gave Milo’s Kitchen coverage on hundreds of TV stations, more than 450 media placements in under 10 weeks, and a segment on “NBC Nightly News.”
Although sampling has been a core marketing tactic for decades, “there are new ways you can bring the experience to life and make it more meaningful for consumers.”
For Milo’s Kitchen, it was imperative that pet parents were educated about the quality of food and snacks that were available.
“Dogs deserve the same quality of foods and food experiences humans enjoy,” Winter explained in an interview with Retail TouchPoints. “We implemented that way of thinking and tried to see what food experiences were trending now and how we can bring that to life for pets.”
In addition to serving the home-style dog treats, Milo’s Kitchen gave attendees access to a “doggie selfie” photo booth and backyard-style lapdog lounge.
All of these components “really brought the whole experience to life,” Winter said. “We didn’t just want to hand out samples.”
Milo’s Kitchen went to great heights to enhance the traditional sampling model, offering treats on personalized plates and in customized to-go bags.
“It’s those little touches that bring our brand to life and show what we’re all about,” Winter said. “We’re about this idea that dogs are an equal member of the family. So they deserve the same quality care and food that the rest of the family has access to.”
Although the food truck concept is what initially piqued consumers’ interest, it was the brands vision and messaging that really kept their attention.
“We were able to reach more than 200,000 people in 15 cities, and had up to 300 local TV stations covering us,” Winter said. “It was great because one of the challenges of experiential marketing is you get great one-on-one time with consumers but the reach is not that great. But by centering our marketing efforts on a trend that was really newsworthy, we were able to get more coverage. And then the more people talked about it, especially on social media, the more people came to the event.”
