Meow Mix has a fairly simple marketing theme, as such things go. It’s that cats should be pampered according to their taste.
And the $350 million-a-year brand has run several promotions to support that goal.
One was the Meow Mix Café, serving felines and owners. Next was Meow Mix House, a reality TV show where cats competed in paw painting and purring.
And now there’s a traveling school called The Acatemy. Its mission is stated in the name of the campaign: Think Like a Cat.
Promo recently talked with Joe Tuza, vice president of pet products for Del Monte Foods.
Tuza, who has overseen marketing for Meow Mix for six years, expanded his portfolio last year after Del Monte purchased the brand for $705 million.
PROMO: Will people eventually tire of one-off events like the Café and the Acatemy?
Tuza: As long as the communication is in line with the principles and equity of the brand, I don’t think these will ever get old. And we’ll continue to look for the next big idea.
P: How is your marketing evolving?
T: Meow Mix Café and Meow Mix House were great at generating PR, but now we’re trying to execute a more integrated holistic marketing plan. The one-offs were designed to leverage new product launches — for example, Meow Mix Café introduced a new wet food line.
P: What are you trying to do with Think Like a Cat?
t: We see Think Like a Cat as being an overarching idea that can extend into further programming and communication. It allows us to integrate all parts of the marketing mix — PR, mobile marketing tours, sweepstakes, FSIs, on pack, in-store events and merchandising.
P: How do you measure the return on investment?
t: Programs like the Meow Mix House and Meow Mix TV were great when it came to generating PR impressions, but they were really hard to attach an ROI to.
P: Can you remedy that?
t: The Think Like a Cat program is different in that we can measure each individual component of the marketing mix on its own versus ROI for the total program. We need to break it down into separate entities, and make sure that we’re getting our proper return for each one.
P: How did the ownership change affect Meow Mix?
t: We remained true to what the brand stands for, which is being passionate about keeping cats happy and looking at the world from a cat’s perspective. We wanted to make sure that whatever we did had a fun, high-energy tone and added value to cat ownership instead of being just a conversation about food.
P: Has the marketing changed under Del Monte?
T: Del Monte encouraged us to keep the spirit of the brand and to continue to innovate. And it made sure that Meow Mix stayed as a separate entity after the purchase. It wasn’t initially pulled in with the other brands from a reporting standpoint.
P: Has the marketing budget changed since the takeover?
T: The budget has increased a bit. However, the biggest change has been that we are able to capitalize on partnering with the other brands on programming and marketing spends. Whether it’s FSIs or advertising, our dollars are much more efficient now than when we were a standalone company. Ten brands allow us to gain greater efficiencies due to our scale.
P: How do you define your market?
t: Meow Mix targets people who spoil their cats and show their love through food. We reach consumers who want to see the cat come running when they pour the food in the bowl, and eat it right there and then.
P: Do you own a cat?
t: Yes, I have a cat. It was a stray that we took in and named Sal. He now lives the high life.
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