Winners 2016

Best consumer campaign

Petsercise
MORE TH>N
Agency: Cow PR

Every year millions of people start a fitness regime, often turning to the latest celebrity DVD to help them achieve their goal. But one in three dogs are currently classified as obese, and pet insurance company MORE TH>N figured that, capitalising on the annual media conversations about resolutions, health and fitness, would prompt dog owners to think about their charges.

MORE TH>N was also keen to maintain its brand tone of voice, which is collaborative, positive and supportive, and find a creative way to engage with dog owners without making them feeling lectured at or guilty.

The solution came in the form of Olympic gymnast and proud owner of husky Luna, Louis Smith, who became the face of the world’s first ever pet and owner celebrity fitness DVD Petsercise. MORE TH>N sought the advice of a vet and two personal trainers to ensure that the exercises demonstrated by Smith would be safe to perform for both dogs and their owners.

Two videos featuring Smith, Border Collie Gift and Jack Russell Titch performing eight exercises, including squats and bicycle crunches, were created: a full length 11 minute routine and a short 90 second trailer, perfect for any media outlet carrying the story. The free videos were uploaded onto MORE TH>N’s YouTube page and embedded into its corporate website.

MORE TH>N also created eight photographs which were captioned for media use, and exclusive imagery for the Daily Mail. Smith was also available for media interviews. The video launched on 5 January. Within one week, visits to MORE TH>N’s website were 197.3 per cent ahead of target while in the second week they remained 111.1 per cent above target.

Over two weeks, Petsercise generated more than 60 items of coverage, including broadcast interviews on This Morning and Channel 5’s The Saturday Show. It was covered in publications ranging from the Daily Star to HelloNow! and OK. Journalists at The Independent and the Daily Record even reviewed the video with their own dogs, resulting in double page coverage.

In total, 92 per cent of the coverage referred to MORE TH>N insurance, in some cases more than once, while 45 per cent of online coverage linked to the website and 43 per cent carried the video. The video was viewed 316,000 times on Facebook and reached 1.2 million people on Twitter.

‘This was a fun, engaging campaign,’ the judges said. ‘It was a simple idea that made great use of video, and was closely aligned with the brand’s values.’