The Campaign

From a branded content perspective, New Zealand definitely lags behind larger international markets. Truly unique content created for the benefit of media partnerships and brands is still in its infancy. In New Zealand, the cost of “bought media” is considerably cheaper due to economies of scale, and the popularity of “owned digital media” is increasing, while the cost of producing branded content remains fairly high. Most New Zealand clients, with limited budgets, would therefore prefer to revert to a more traditional advertising media model to reach their consumers. As a consequence there are few rules or restrictions regarding branded content, with the only stipulation from media owners being that it should be clear to the audience that the content is bought to them by a brand. Pretty simple really. What that does mean is that the media owners are very open to new ideas to ensure they’re connecting brands with their audience in more engaging and relevant ways.

Results

PEDIGREE’s mission is to make the world a better place for dogs. In today’s busy world, dogs are often left at home alone. We know that dogs can get stressed when they’re alone which is why experts recommend leaving the radio playing to keep them company. The problem is, it's radio for humans. So, PEDIGREE launched a radio station designed just for dogs: 87.7 K9FM - man’s best friend’s best friend. We created hours of original content to play all day, every day. Research explains that classical music calms dogs down, ambient sounds keep dogs stimulated and a relaxed voice will ease their separation anxiety. Our programme includes everything from relaxing classical music to chat shows. The most popular segments include: Hey Boy: Call in and send a message of love to your homebound hound. Talkies: Tackling life’s big questions, like, ‘Where is the ball, really?’. Virtual Outings: Leave the house without leaving the house. Fetch In The Park: A throw-by-throw commentary on K9FM Sport. We launched K9FM through activation, PR and media partnerships. We targeted dog owners within reach of our frequency through a series of activations at local trade outlets, doggy day care centres and dog parks. The station was simultaneously launched to the whole nation through a local and national PR programme. To generate exposure, local PR targeted dog-loving influencers and media with personalised K9FM branded merchandise for them and their dogs. We told the whole country about the station via national TV and radio coverage. K9FM is accessible to all dog owners across New Zealand via our local frequency (87.7FM) or at pedigreek9fm.com. We extended accessibility via pedigreek9fm.com in partnership with iHeart radio, broadening our reach to their entire database of listeners.

We launched K9FM to dog owners through a series of activations at local trade outlets, doggy day care centres and dog parks. The station was simultaneously launched to all New Zealand dog owners through a local and national PR programme. Local PR targeted dog-loving influencers and media with personalised K9FM branded merchandise for them and their dogs. We told the whole country about the station via national TV and radio coverage. K9FM is accessible to all dog owners via pedigreek9fm.com in partnership with iHeart radio, broadening our reach to their entire database of listeners.

While in its infancy, K9FM and the concept of a radio station for dogs has been met with great interest from national and local news stations – kicking off with a five-minute segment on New Zealand’s leading current affairs programme: Campbell Live, and featuring in a number of other titles. To date, we’ve achieved earned media coverage to the value of NZ$230,000 - more than 10 x our total campaign budget. We’re hopeful this early enthusiasm will create popularity for K9FM as an ongoing station both in New Zealand and in other dog-loving markets around the world.