Purina, the pet food subsidiary of Nestlé, wanted to reach and promote its Pro Plan range of science-based nutrition products to dog and cat owners in the UAE. To achieve this, it called on MEmob+ to identify and gather data about pet owners first before engaging with this most relevant audience with precision.

Traditionally, dogs have not been a popular pet amongst Emiratis. Religion deems them to be “unclean” animals, but influence from Europe and North America where dogs are a popular pet has meant the country has seen an increase in dog ownership over the past few years. Dubai in particular is a haven for man’s best friend, which has led to a boom in pet products. Previously, residents of the city might have been hard pushed to find a dog treat manufacturer that could supply them with all the treats their pooch needs, but the last decade has seen demand increase.

Collecting and mining the data

Using its AllPings™ proprietary location-based technology, MEmob+ set up geo-fences around pet shops and veterinary clinics. They allowed it to capture the details of people spending between 30 minutes and four hours in these relevant locations. This made sure they were clients rather than employees. More than 1 million pet owners’ device IDs were collected.

In a second phase, this data was refined further with pet owners’ answers to short surveys from the MEmob+ research team. They determined the type, age and nutritional needs of their pets. Respondents were also probed on their pet food brand preferences and shopping habits. This helped Purina better assess its market share and its competitors’.

Activating the data

Using these insights, the MEmob+ team built key audience segments based on the type of pets owned and created a fully addressable and personalised advertising campaign. They used Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) to tailor the messaging and format for each impression in real time. Four distinct variants ran (dog, cat, puppy and kitten), each designed to reach and stimulate engagement from their clearly identified audience segment.

Updated continuously, these key audience segments provide additional customer demographic and interest data to inform marketing and creative decisions.

Monetizing the data

The multichannel campaign was served through the MEmob+ Stretch™ DMP on display and social media sites. It eliminated any kind of audience duplication, optimized the budget by 56% and delivered a great ROI.

The campaign, with all its variants, performed strongly. At 8.98%, the overall engagement rate beat the category benchmark. The clickthrough rate (1.68%) was also over three times higher than the average, peaking at 1.95% at the end of the campaign.

More importantly, this led to higher traffic in Purina Pro Plan points of sale, both retailers and e-tailers, and a 50% increase in new customer acquisition.

With a regular feed of segmented device ID data and custom audience segments, Purina’s data-driven approach is now always-on. It will be able to deliver tailored messages at the right time and place, convert and upsell consumers, and boost Pro Plan’s market share further.

“MEmob+ has developed an effective customer-first, data-driven digital strategy for us that allowed for precise and personalized customer targeting. Most importantly, it has translated into real engagement with our customers, increased awareness for our Pro Plan range, stimulated new customer acquisition and generated measurable business outcomes,” says Daria Myskina, brand manager at Nestlé Purina Middle East.

“We always try to minimize the huge spill over of media campaigns for Purina, as it’s almost impossible to target only pet owners. With MEmob’s data-driven approach, we’ve enhanced the performance of our media campaigns. The Purina campaign with MEmob+ points to an exciting future in the way we communicate with pet owners, understanding and responding to their needs where and when they need us. We can now really tailor at scale in a relevant and engaging manner, with an impressive and positive impact on our ROI,” says Wassim Barbara, head of media at Nestlé MENA.