Christina Mascarenas

J-7252 Branded Strategic Storytelling

Individual Assignment
Dec. 10, 2019

Meowbox

Subscription boxes have become a massive trend over the past few years. It’s fun to come home
to a package full of mystery goods customized just for you (Subbly).

WHO
The Meowbox audience are people who want their animals to have the best in life. They have
rescued their pet and feel good knowing they have given their fur baby a loving, new forever
home.
These pet lovers value their pets as a member of the family and think of them as their best
friend. They are looking for ways to spoil their pets by purchasing toys and giving them a good
life. Many of these pets had been abandoned and discarded like trash so the pet parents believe in
animal rescue and adoption.
For many people, pets are their children, they are proud of them and in some ways
they’re reflective of them. Many of the pet parents have created an Instagram page for their pet
where strangers become a part of their everyday life through posts, likes, shares and comments.
Following the like-minded social media pages creates a bond between people over common
interests such as their love for animals.
Pet owners are likely to share photos of their four-legged friends on social media in what
is now known as ‘social pet working.’ New Zealand is a nation obsessed with sharing images of
their pets online, a new survey has revealed. Almost 70 percent of respondents off a PETstock
survey said they’ve posted images of their pets while 10 per cent said they’ve created a social
media account for their beloved friends, reported the NZ Herald.

The Passionate Pet Parents are compassionate and empathetic pet lovers who aspire to give
their cat pet a better life. They participate in trap neuter release (TNR), volunteer at Petsmart,
foster abandoned kittens and donate to animal rescues.
Some pet owners are backing away from the language of “ownership” and instead opting
for alternatives, such as “pet parent.” More than three in four pet owners say “pet parent” aligns
more with their perception of the pet relationship than “pet owner.” It may be expected that
parents with human children would feel less prone to the “pet parent” title, but this isn’t actually
the case. Adults with kids in the household, and those without both agree that if they have a pet,
they are parents.

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 Attitudes in owning pets have evolved over the years. The following quote is about dogs
but it can also be applied to cat parents. "People are treating dogs more like family than ever
before," said Stacie Grissom, head of content at BarkBox. "In our parents' generation, a dog may
have been kept largely in the yard and you greeted it in the morning and when you came home
from work. Now the dog is in the Christmas cards" (NBC News).

“And all is right in my world I’m so grateful to have them with me, so glad they are
safe and warm and loved. I hope neither of them worries about a thing. They don’t have to worry
about finding a safe place to sleep or if they will be able to find food or being cold and wet. Or
being scared in a cage in a noisy shelter. It breaks my heart to remember Isabelle as a very sick,
tiny kitten, in a cage in the back of the shelter, slated for euthanasia.” Evil_Cat_Isabelle/(IG)

Macrotrends - Subscription trends in general (whose buying them?)

● Pet owners are looking for food, treats, and toys to create an involved lifestyle for their
best friend from the kitten age to the end of their life.
● The fluctuation and diversity among pet ownership demographics continues to create new
challenges for pet food marketers and professionals (Pet food industry).
● In 2017, approximately 54.6% or 66.8 million households owned pets, among those
households, pet ownership varies by age, ethnicity and gender (Pet food industry).
● Pet ownership is exceedingly common in the US, with more than eight in 10 American
adults owning a pet (Mintel). The approximately 54.6% or 66.8 million households gives
many opportunities to market to pet owners.
● Fifty-five percent of all subscriptions are curation-based making this category the most
dominant in the 2018 subscription economy. This reflects online customers’ demand for a
personalized, high-quality experiences and liking being surprised by the variety of the
product (Forbes).
● According to Forbes, men and women gravitate to different types of subscription e-
commerce offerings but both genders subscribe to Barkbox for dogs. This leaves room
for Meowbox to enter the subscription market focusing on the cat parents.

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Source (Forbes)

Source (Forbes)

Microtrends
● Passionate Fur-Parents want to feel connected to other people through fundraising events
that support rescue organizations such as a painting class, the Furball gala, and a Spay-
ghetti dinner.

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 ● The box gives their pets variety the pet parent is craving since the Meowbox has a
monthly theme that includes new toys to play with and a treat to eat.
● Buying products online has become the norm for most people due to its convenience and
competitive price offerings. In 2018, 1.92 billion people worldwide bought goods and
services online (Statista).
● According to Forbes, 15% of online shoppers have signed up for one or more
subscription-box services that deliver products on a recurring, monthly basis. The median
number of subscriptions an active subscriber has is two, and nearly 35% have three or
more.
● A 2013 global survey by RetailMeNot, found that of its 10,009 participants, 51 percent
agreed that they were influenced by deals, discounts or sales when shopping online.
Meowbox can tap into this demographic when they offer a discount to subscribers when
they sign up for the first Meowbox.

WHY - Meowbox Business Needs

Meowbox is the original subscription box for cats, shipping boxes of toys and treats every month
or bi-monthly. Each box has a fun theme such as the New York box that has a taxi cab, a mouse
and pizza along with a Statue of Liberty torch and crown hat filled with catnip.
The company fulfills a need by stating their values include helping animals in need along
with supporting small business by hiring artists to handcraft the toys for the boxes. In addition to
donating a can of food to a shelter for each box that is purchased. When the clients Meowbox is
shipped receive an email with a unique can code to monitor the status and location of the
donation The shelter benefits from this advertisement because the pet parent can visit their page
and donate directly to them in addition to receiving the food donation from Meowbox.

The business could create relationships with like-minded stakeholders and organizations online
such as Chewy, the food subscription company. Cat owners may get the bulk of their pet supplies
after the cat is already in the household. Meowbox will want to connect with cat owners during
that initial shopping trip online by partnering with subscription food companies (Mintel).
Cat adoption may be a less formal process. Half of cats get adopted from shelters and or
rescue organizations, and another quarter are adopted from friends or family. A significant share
of cats are adopted right from an owner’s front porch since their cat “just showed up” or
“wandered in and won’t leave”. Due to this informal acquisition, there may not be a “pre-
adoption” research phase where brands can play a role.

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Source (Mintel)

Macrotrends
● According to the American Pet Products Association (APPA) the pet industry as $62.75
billion in 2016. In the United States, 42.7 million households own a cat. In 2019-2020,
the annual expenses for food will be $228 million, $58 million for treats and $31 million
for toys.
● Data shows people think it’s so gratifying to find a package at your door after a long,
hard day of work. Even though you may have ordered it yourself, it feels akin to a gift
opening and unwrapping whatever's inside.
● The strong bond that owners have with their pets is nearly universal. For many pet
owners, their beloved furry friend comes first in their life. They don’t see a difference
between their best friend and their pet. More than eight in 10 respondents or 86 percent
say the bond with their pet is special. This personal relationship inspires owners to spend
more on their pets across categories. Pet ownership can also impact shopping habits
outside of the pet category. Pet owners are more likely than the average to say that
treating animals ethically is one of the top three ways brands can align with their personal
values (48% vs 38%, see Marketing to Millennials – US, June 2019).
● One indicator of the depth of the pet and owner relationship is the pet owner’s desire for
their pet to have a high-quality life. More than two thirds of pet owners agree that it’s
important for their pet to experience new things. Meowbox can use the pet owner’s wants
of giving their pet a variety of options to introduce them to their brand. This is an
opportunity for pet subscription services for toys, treats and accessories, an offering that
31% of pet owners say they haven’t tried, but are interested in.

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 ● Companionship: Pet parents get their pets for the companionship they provide, according
to America’s Pet Owners – US, August 2018. Even though they don’t talk back, pets get a
lot of practice listening with 86% of pet owners saying they enjoy talking to their pets.
This therapeutic relationship may be one of the factors driving the pet/owner bond that so
many pet people appreciate.

Source (Mintel)

Source (Mintel)

Microtrends
● Meowbox has the ability to create advertising by using their customer’s content such as
videos of cats opening their Meowbox and playing with the toys to engage in the
conversation of pet fostering, rescuing and adoption.

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 ● Purchasing pet food online and having it delivered to the house has made it convenient to
purchase larger amounts of food since it can be to heavy to purchase at the store.
● The ease of ordering prescription diet pet food for those animals with health concerns.
● In-home services such as pet video monitoring devices since they have become more
affordable. They have the largest shares of interest among cat and dog owners (35%). The
most popular is PetChatz, since it is a two-way HD video monitor with treat dispenser.
As one pet owner said regarding video monitoring, “This product is awesome I have a
senior fur baby with some heart issues and it gives me the security to leave the house and
know I can still check on her” (Mintel).

WHAT (Conversations with subscribers)

Subscription services are an opportunity for the pet parent. Pet food are the most popular and
appealing to owners since food is essential and heavy. Pet food subscriptions can also increase
their appeal by including a repeat purchase discount to boost loyalty such as Chewy.com’s auto
shipment that gives a five percent discount for each renewal.

Source (Mintel)

1. Relationship and creating a comfortable home

a. Bonding: The pet and owners bond is is strong.They communicate well with their
pet, think of themselves as “pet parents” and feel that no one can take care of their
pet as well as they can (Mintel).
b. The cat parents create a world of safety for their cat through plush beds, blankets,
food and shelter.
i. Pet parents want to entertain their cats by purchasing cat condos to climb
and play, sleep and use as scratchers so hopefully their furniture won’t get
scratched up.

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 c. Worry: Pet owners with a high worry factor are concerned about their pet’s
emotional wellbeing (Mintel).
i. Being away from home can be stressful for a pet parent, they wonder if
their pet is being fed, has fresh water, wonders if the litter box cleaned and
if they are being treated well.
ii. Some pet parents may leave the TV on for them, so they don’t get lonely
iii. Nostalgia: People who grew up with a cat sibling wants to continue to
rescue and love animals as adults.
d. Examples of content
i. Create blog posts about the stresses of a pet parent and how they cope with
leaving their pet alone.
ii. The conversation can be about their home: A passion pet parent’s home
has pet toys and hammocks on top of scratching posts. There’re litter
boxes in a room along with bags of kitty litter and then of course, are the
bags of food and treats. The cats have multiple beds to choose from in
every room and a few boxes that the cats play in and their pet parent
doesn’t have the heart to throw out yet.

Source (Mintel)

2. Education
a. Using social media channels to educate the public about the plight of homeless
abused cats
b. Promote TNR classes to teach volunteers how to humanely trap cats and kittens
along with creating a network of veterinary hospitals to perform the surgeries
c. Fostering: Teach volunteers how to foster kittens and adult cats.

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 d. Examples of Content
i. In this conversation, Meowbox will speak with veterinarians about the
importance of spay and neuter to prevent kittens from being born sick and
die in the bad weather.
3. Ethical acquisition in rescuing
a. They are passionate about pet adoption and rescue.
b. Rescuing rated most highly for the ethical acquisition factor according to
America’s Pet Owners - U.S. - August 2019, showing they’re heading straight to
the shelter when they get a new pet (Mintel).
c. Pet owners strongly believe that adopting a pet is the only option (Mintel).
d. Rescue off the street’s vs breeding
e. Finding their best friend at the shelter
f. Examples of Content
i. Videos of people talking about how they met their best friend using the tag
line #AdoptDontShop
4. Dietary needs
a. Cats who have health issues need prescription food that is expense.
b. The cat may need medication that is expensive, and the cat may fight their pet
parent when it’s being administered
c. Examples of Content
i. In this conversation, Mewobox can blog about how they give the clients
the option to trade out the treats for a toy. The pet parent will know the
company is listening to their pet’s dietary needs and not spending money
on treats their cat can’t have.
5. Convenience of a subscription
a. It’s fun to receive a monthly or bi-monthly box of cat toys and treats and to watch
the cat open the packaging and play with the themed personalized toys.
b. The toys are delivered to the client’s doorstep, so they don’t have to go to the
store to purchase toys and treats.
c. A consumer insight retail report found that visits to top subscription box websites
have exploded by nearly 3,000% over the past three years (Inc).
d. Examples of Content
i. In this conversation, customers can drive the conversation to let the
company know what they like about the subscription and use their quotes
for future marketing purposes. This will give the subscription service
credibility for future subscribers.
ii. The conversation of having pets in the commercials: Pets are featured in
television commercials for companies such as Wells Fargo showing the
dog as part of the family. Bringing pets into advertising can appeal to a
broad audience since the majority of Americanas have pets in their homes.

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WHEN
Pet parents decide when to subscribe to Meowbox when they get a new cat. They will see the
value of a subscription when they see how convenient it is. According to Entrepreneur, the
autopilot simplicity of subscriptions that removes the thinking out of a purchase decision.
Subscribers never have to remember to reorder every month, which gives them the reassurance
that they will have whatever they need before they need it.

Another option is for Meowbox to focus their marketing efforts on the holidays. Subscription
boxes make great gifts according to Forbes, since the seasonal gifts are a way to show your
appreciation for those special people in your life. Every month your gift arrives on your loved
one's doorsteps, they will think of you and appreciate your thoughtful gift.
Meowbox needs to work with digital magazines to be listed as one of the “best gift to
give” during the holiday season.

Meowbox should post on its social media channels three to four times a week, using the photos
and videos that are made from their customers featuring their cat opening their Meowbox. The
best times to post on Instagram according to Sprout Social are Wednesdays at 11 a.m. to Friday
10 to 11 a.m., with Wednesday being the best day to post overall.

WHERE
The hub of our content will be the Meowbox website. The organization will be in control of the
user experience since all the information the pet parent needs will be in one place. This includes
subscription content, frequently asked questions, photos of cats opening their boxes, links to their
social media channels. The website will also house the videos created using customer content of
the cats opening the Meowbox and playing with the toys.

● Subscribers use digital content to influence their purchases. In making purchases for their
pets, consumers are more often than not turning to social media to find recommendations
from friends or bloggers that they trust.
● The use of searching in social media channels with hashtags and keywords are playing a
bigger role on social media. This is another way to find information regarding pet
products since social media. Buyers are in the discovery stage when they are searching
for solutions or suppliers.

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● On Instagram, the hashtag #cats has 93.9 million posts, #kitten has 18.5 million posts,
#catsofinstagram has 344,000 posts and #kittensofinstagram have 10.3 million posts.
Also, the hashtag #AdoptDontShop has 436,000 posts.
● Social media is now a key component of organizations’ marketing strategies and for good
reason. 74% of shoppers make buying decisions based on social media (Social Media
Week).
● To Ensure you are encouraging your customers to join the conversation about your
products on social media. Create a brand- or product-specific hashtag, and promote it on
your website, in your brick and mortar store, and throughout your own posts. Try hosting
a contest where customers enter by posting a photo of how they’re using your product
(Social Media Week).
● According to Shane Barker, 50% of pet owners who post about their pets on social media
have reported that pets get more attention than them. The Mars study reveals interesting
influencer marketing statistics associated with fan pages of pets. It shows that pets are an
important part of our culture. Marketers can leverage pets effectively.

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Source (Shane Barker)

HOW
Creating marketing campaigns to attract the Passional Pet Parent would be accomplished by
hiring influencers along with combining the present staff. According to Meowbox’s website,
they have to co-founders, a growth marketer, bookkeeper, community manager, social media and
content manager, a customer operations representative, events and community manager, and a
customer operations representative along with two co-chief feline officers. With nine salaries to
pay, seven employees and the co-founders, the company has enough talent to fulfill the needs of
the customers.

The social media and content manager along with the events and community manager could
work together create marketing campaigns to attract new subscribers using micro-influencers.
They would start by searching Instagram and finding everyday people who have 1,000 to
10,000 social media followers to partner with. According to Adweek, when it comes to
influencers, bigger isn’t always better. Larger accounts help brands gain exposure and increase
awareness, but if the influencer doesn’t align with the brand, people likely won’t pay attention.

As mentioned, the most prominent social media platform for influencer marketing is Instagram
according to MediaKix.com. By 2020, Instagram influencer marketing is set to reach $2.3
billion.

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Source (MediaKix)

A micro-influencer is someone with a substantial following across social platforms but hasn’t
reached “celebrity status.” Micro-influencers are still considered to be everyday people but have
had greater success on social media, whereas celebrities have reached a level of fame that is
perceived as inauthentic (Pet Product News). A micro-influencer rates can range from $200
hundred to $4,000 thousand.

Source (Mediakix)

According to Kristen Leveine, there are several factors in attracting pet owners with influencer
marketing. In the pet space your audience is likely well defined, and you know your target

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demographic. An influencer that already uses your product will want to nurture the partnership in
order to present a consistent message to their audience. They know that it’s far better to promote
a handful of brands and products they truly believe in, rather than hawk a different product every
week. Start by finding influencers whose lifestyle resonates with the Meowbox brand. Define
your goals with the influencer to measure success. Messaging needs to be agreed on along with
the length of the partnership. Another option is to forget about the human and work with a pet
but avoid pets with agencies. To really gain endorsement for your brand, consider searching for
an up-and-coming micro-influencer such as s sassy cat.

Measuring ROI
Return on investment (ROI) is a financial ratio used to calculate the benefit an investor will
receive in relation to their investment cost. It is most commonly measured as net income divided
by the original capital cost of the investment. The higher the ratio, the greater the benefit earned.

According to Clickz, not every company will see the same ROI from using social media. In fact,
not even every campaign will yield the same ROI for a specific company. The ROI of social
media campaigns doesn’t have to be about putting an absolute figure on the value of a social
media campaign; it’s more about gauging whether or not your campaign has achieved the goal
that it set out to achieve, to an extent that justifies the resources you invested into it.

According to INC, social media isn't only about ROI and it’s not only about sales. Social media
is about branding, opening channels of communication with customers, building loyalty, being
transparent and establishing good will. If your product or service is worthy, you will most
definitely see a return on your investment.

Regarding influencers, Mediakix says using an influencer, the effectiveness of an influencer

marketing campaign is dependent on strategy, proper creative planning, influencer and platform
selection, content production, management, execution, and optimization (Mediakix).

Leading metrics: According to Blue Wing, leading metrics (or indicators) measure inputs:
things you can directly control to drive results, or the ‘action’ you take to reach your goals.
● How many blog posts does Meowbox post a month?
● How much money is Meowbox investing in paid media?
● How much money does Meowbox spend on influencers annually?
● How many social media posts does Meowbox post a month?

Lagging metrics: Lag indicators are output metrics that measure the results and success of your
sales and marketing strategy.
● How many people visit the blog? How much time do they spend on each article?

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 ● How many people visit the social media channels? How much time do they spend on the
content?
● What is the bounce rate from the Meowbox email newsletters?
● What is the click-through-rate of the website?
● How many people click on the link to Meowbox’s website after viewing a nano- or
micro-influencers post?
● How many followers on social channels and ‘likes’ does Meowbox receive on posts?
● How many new customers have subscribed to a Meowbox?

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are a measure of performance management used by different
organizations to evaluate the success or failure of a particular product, marketing campaign or
activity in which the company is involved.

According to Clickz, KPIs for social media campaigns are brand awareness, increased
engagement and lead generation.
● For brand awareness campaigns they are usually an increase in reach, followers, and
traffic.
○ The idea is to use the campaign to reach a wider audience that might be interested
in the brand’s particular product or service. As social media users become more
demanding year on year, it’s important to create such campaigns to try to grab
their attention, until they are ready to start the process of becoming customers.
● For increased engagement: a campaign that aims for increased engagement for a brand
is trying to spark discussions about that brand in the most genuine way.
○ The number of likes
○ Number of comments
○ Number of shares
○ Types of reactions
○ Brand mentions
● For lead generation: the campaign is one that uses a tangible hook to direct social users
towards a specific landing page. Whether it’s a free gift, a report, or an e-book, brands
use lead generation campaigns to increase:
○ Traffic to the site
○ Number of email subscribers
○ Number of downloads for a specific piece of content
○ Number of form completions

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