27 May, 2022

Case Study: How MediaCom’s WHISKAS’ #CatsInBoxes Campaign Saw A 70% Uplift In Sales & Score A Number Of Awards

By B&T Magazine

It’s a case study of MediaCom Australia’s #CatsInBoxes that saw the campaign win a number of major awards and saw a staggering 70 per cent uplift in sales…

Client: MARS Australia

Brand: WHISKAS®

Media Agency: MediaCom Australia

Media Partner: Amazon Australia

Award wins:

GOLD: The Creative Use of Media Award

GOLD: Best Campaign for a Specific Audience

Summary

Whiskas may be the big tom cat of pet food in Australia, but some cheeky young rivals were stealing share. Brand tracking studies revealed that under 45s viewed the brand as outdated and were seeking new ways to feed their felines. Our objective was to revitalize Whiskas for a new generation and show them that no-one understands cats better than Whiskas.

Insight

We realised that to connect with a more digital savvy audience, one that often buys cat food online, we needed to boost cultural relevance, increase perceived value, and capture their hearts.

When we talked to Whiskas experts on cat behaviour, they told as that pets live better lives when the owner understands a cat’s most natural instincts. These natural instincts can be seen in their often mysterious and intriguing behaviour – especially when it comes to playtime. In fact, it’s often the most unexpected things that cats will play with.

With Covid-19 restrictions forcing pet owners to spend more time at home – Australia had some of the world’s toughest lockdowns – many were also boosting their use of eCommerce.

Our insight was the cats are masters of turning even the most basic delivery box into a world of play. We vowed to improve the feline play experience that ecommerce could provide.

The Idea

Our idea was to arouse cats’ curiosity and stimulate indoor play by turning delivery boxes into cat play boxes. We would transform ordinary brown boxes into three exciting play destinations. The delivery box would become a vehicle to boost awareness and engagement for Whiskas.

Amazon Australia was the obvious partner; Not only did it deliver hundreds of thousands of parcels every year, it also indexed very highly with our target group. Amazon was also an increasingly important D2C channel for Whiskas parent MARS.

Results

An independent sales lift studies by IRI revealed an ROI of $3.79 compared to the control market. This translates to a value uplift of 4.6 per cent, which far exceeded the benchmark for average sales increase secured by pet food advertising campaigns of 1.8 per cent.

In addition, we saw a 70 per cent uplift in Whiskas sales on Amazon during the campaign. Not only did we drive sales, but we also changed attitudes. Surveys of all those who received a Whiskas Amazon box revealed a five per cent increase in brand consideration compared with a control group of people who ordered in the same time period.

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