The Campaign

To demonstrate the irresistibility of Pedigree DentaSTIX, we created SelfieSTIX. A specially designed phone accessory that attaches DentaSTIX to your phone, so you can capture the perfect dog selfie. To accompany the clip, we created an app that took dog selfies and added fun filters to them. Facial recognition in humans is straightforward. But with the extreme variation in dog faces, the technology is much more sophisticated. This is the first time it has been used on dogs successfully.

Creative Execution

To demonstrate the irresistibility of Pedigree DentaSTIX, we created SelfieSTIX. A specially designed phone accessory that attaches DentaSTIX to your phone, so you can capture the perfect dog selfie. The promotional item was supported by the SelfieSTIX app. Like Snapchat lenses, but for dogs, the Pedigree SelfieSTIX app converts people’s canine companions into a delightful cast of characters. We trained a neural network to recognise dog faces by feeding it thousands of dog images. Over time, the trained algorithm learned to recognise similar patterns across all images and then, whenever the dog looks at the camera, the app places a fun filter on its face. SelfieSTIX was supported by an integrated campaign which directed people to get their free clip with any DentaSTIX purchase through Shopify or in store. It also ran across film, social, POS & influencers.

The SelfieSTIX app not only encouraged people to share their perfect doggy pics, it also encouraged repeat purchase of Pedigree DentaSTIX. Across social platforms, the campaign had over 2.1 million interactions. The campaign achieved 3.5 million engagements, a 24% increase in sales and one quarter of the country’s dog owners redeemed SelfieSTIX. Acquisition cost was 12 times lower than industry standard.

Pedigree DentaSTIX sat within the smaller ‘functional’ treating segment within a fast-growing care and treats category, but Pedigree wanted to relaunch DentaSTIX so it would cross over into ‘positive’ treating as well. By creating a direct campaign that had a strong presence on mobile, we were able to give DentaSTIX social currency as a treat. Our audience were all dog owners, with a slightly younger skew, targeting those who were already in the habit of sharing pictures of their dogs. Traditional media asked people to click through to purchase DentaSTIX and get their free SelfieSTIX online, or in store. The SelfieSTIX clip and app drove repeat purchase of DentaSTIX and encouraged people to share their perfect dog selfies in social media with #PedigreeSelfieSTIX.