Retailer Dave's Soda and Pet City made its first move into the multichannel world last month with an e-commerce site to promote the national launch of Simply the Best dog food.
The Agawam, MA-based four-store chain recently began distributing the 3-year-old dog food brand in about 1,000 independent pet stores around the country, says Dave Ratner, chief instigating officer. “It's a huge deal.”
While Dave's has had a Web presence for several years at www.davessodaandpetcity, a new site (www.davespetfood.com) is the first time the store is aggressively making the move to sell direct. The company is testing search engine marketing in cities where it doesn't have dealers yet, and is considering direct mail and e-mail campaigns using lists belonging to retailers that carry the food. E-mail may be used in tests to reach high-income dog owners in areas without retail access.
In addition to selling direct, the new site will feature a dealer locator and offer T-shirts and hats picturing the brand's mascot, a clothespin-wearing basset hound.
The food is intended to prevent dogs from passing gas, so contests asking users to answer the question, “My dog's gas was so bad that…” are also planned.
The food is deliberately not being marketed to large chain retailers like Petco and PetSmart. Ratner sees this as a way to help smaller outfits like his attract a loyal audience.
“The independent retailer keeps getting burned,” he explains. “Small brands come to us, we build up the brand and then they go into the bigger stores.”
Another way Dave's plans to help fellow Davids of the pet retail market beat the Goliaths is by kicking back 40% of company profits from the food to retailers, to give them an incentive to push the product. And if the brand ever gets sold, retailers will get 40% of those profits too.
A retailer board of directors will oversee the brand. The board will make major decisions; for example, it'll have the authority to say yes or no should a big gun like Petco ask for distribution.
The food is relatively high end: A 33-pound bag retails for about $36. While Simply the Best debuted three years ago, Dave's has marketed its own brand for about 15 years. “We sell more of our own brand than anything else,” Ratner says. “It makes me feel good because it means our customers trust me.”
As for the future, the company plans on introducing a version of the food for cats. And a TV spot may be in the offing to help drive retail and online sales.
When the brand rolled out, Ratner promoted it through Valpak inserts, offering free 4-pound bags to kick things off. Radio spots also were used, though some listeners complained about the delicate subject of canine gas being discussed on the airwaves.
A current radio spot features a letter from a loyal customer named Spike, who thanks Dave for solving his stomach woes. The only problem, according to Spike? When someone passes gas at his house, “they still keep blaming me.”
