Pet Product News Editorial Blog:
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Picture This
By Sherri Collins
Editor, Pet Product News International
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Do you carry pictures (in some form) of your pets with you? As pet enthusiasts involved in the pet industry, my guess is the majority of you would answer “yes.” What about your customers? As the aforementioned storeowners, you probably get to see more pictures of people’s “little darlings” than most. But would it surprise you to learn that nearly half of pet owners carry photos of their pets with them in their wallets or on their mobile devices? According to an article on the Los Angeles Times’ “L.A. Unleashed” blog, 45 percent of all pet owners surveyed in a recent poll by the Associated Press and Petside.com said they carry around photos of their pets. While the method of conveyance and image style varied—old-fashioned wallet photos, cellphone and smartphone snaps, and iPod and iPad uploads—the sentiment and pride of pet parenthood was apparent across the board. (And before you ask, yes, I have photos of my cats on my iPod and cellphone--but I only show them when people ask what kind of cats I have--honest.)
Women tend to carry pet pictures more than men, 52 to 36 percent, respectively; and dog owners outrank cat owners, 48 to 37 percent, but I’m guessing that may have more to do with a dog’s inclination to stay when told to do so, than a lesser devotion to capturing a cat’s image for posterity. My cats either walk away or start bathing their nether regions as soon as I aim my digital camera at them. From an age-related standpoint, more than 50 percent of pet owners under age 50 carry pet pics, but less than 25 percent of those 65 and up do so—I’m guessing technological “with it-ness” plays a role in that divide.
When I look at those numbers, two things come to mind. 1) That’s an incredible amount of pet photos; and 2) there are still a lot of pet owners who don’t have mobile images. For those in the first group, think of all the photo contests your shop could hold, in store and/or on the web. The cutest, the silliest, the sweetest, the weirdest, the most well traveled, the best-dressed, the best yoga-like pose…the list is only limited by one’s imagination (and willingness to push the boundaries of taste). Votes could be cast in store via a ballot box below a photo board or online where the system could allow for one vote per sign in or as many votes as repeated visits create. The winners—1st, 2nd, 3rd and honorable mention—could be treated to gift cards or a promotional product or service related to their type of pet. If you got other businesses involved in sponsoring the contest (such as a local digital image processor/printer or camera store), they could throw in prizes of their own.
For those lacking pet owners in the latter group, you could set up in store pet photo opportunities by partnering with a local photographer or a high school or community college photography class. The sessions could be scheduled/themed around holidays or the seasons. In addition, if someone on your team is skilled in photography, you could even offer a “how to photograph your pet” session—you could also do this by collaborating with the above mentioned camera store.
According to another poll, 85 percent of parents carry images of their kids. Why should children get all the publicity? Pets need their pictures taken—and to be shown off--too.
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