PeTV: Doctors Foster and Smith Turns to Television to Promote Catalog

It doesn't matter if your animal companion is a cat, dog, fish, hamster or iguana. All pet owners have something in common: They need stuff. Lots of stuff. Kibble, brushes, beds, habitrails, heartworm medicine, squeaky toys…the list goes on and on.

Doctors Foster and Smith is using DRTV to prospect for people who need that stuff. The Rhinelander, WI-based pet-supply cataloger has a revamped slate of 30- and 60-second spots set to roll out in January.

DRTV has been part of the company's promotional strategy for more than three years, says Internet marketing and analysis manager Gordon Magee. The on-screen exposure has been a plus: Customers generated via television have performed just as well as those acquired through traditional catalog prospecting.

Wausau, WI-based Golden Icon created the DRTV spots the company is using through the end of this year. The new 2007 spots are being created by Saint Paul, MN-based Creative Images.

While he wouldn't say much about the new round of commercials for fear of tipping off the competition, Magee did say they'll inject a bit of humor into the DRTV formula that's worked well in the past, stressing the ease and reliability of ordering from the good Doctors.

And yes, there really are Doctors Foster and Smith — "It's not Betty Crocker," says Magee. Brothers Dr. Race Foster and Dr. Rory Foster, along with Dr. Marty Smith, founded the catalog in 1983. (Rory passed away in 1987 from ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease.)

In the past, some of the Doctors' DRTV spots have offered things like $5-off coupons to entice response. Now, however, the focus is more on branding the company as an authoritative resource for pet supplies. Products aren't sold directly on screen, but a URL and phone number are always featured.

This year's spots were built primarily around women in the core 35- to 55-year-old demographic. One 30-second ad showed a woman sitting by a roaring fire with her faithful golden retriever, interspersed with shots of her using a laptop to order products for her canine friend.

Both an 800 number and a URL are featured in the spots, although, not surprisingly, the Web address now generates more response.

Using the Web to boost DRTV response is a growing trend, says Rick Sangerman, senior vice president for client services at Chicago agency A. Eicoff & Co., which worked with Doctors Foster and Smith media and tracking for its DRTV efforts. "It varies by client, but we have some that might get 70% of their responses online."

When asked how the catalog was tracking the spots' ROI, Magee notes that unlike many DRTV marketers, the company decided not to create a unique 800 number or URL for each commercial. Instead, it's using the DRTV campaign to help brand two easy-to-remember phone numbers, 800-442-PETS and 877-442-PETS.