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Advertising Cat Food
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Case study analysis comparing & contrasting the advertising approaches of two cat foods, FELIX & WHISKAS. Reviews the world-wide cat food market, discusses impact of advertising.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Case study analysis comparing & contrasting the advertising approaches of two cat foods, FELIX & WHISKAS. Reviews the world-wide cat food market, discusses impact of advertising.

Paper Introduction:
Overview of World-Wide Cat Food Market The pet food industry has grown significantly over the past 40 years in both Europe and the United Sales. There are an estimated 31.7 million cat owners in the U.S. with cat food sales totalling close to $3.4 billion. However this market is also becoming more competitive. In the U.S. cat ownership is not growing as fast as it once was and in both Europe and the U.S. consolidation of pet food producers is taking place. In addition, both areas of the world have seen a growing diversity of outlets for cat food products. In Europe, and particularly Britain, supermarket sales still account for a significant proportion of cat food sales but, as in the U.S., mass merchandisers and pet store chains offer strong competition. Furthermore in both Europe and the U.S. grocery chains have been

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Petfood rivalry puts pressure on firmsto consolidate. consolidation of pet food producers is taking place. Oh isn't that cute? Garfield, B. The real breakthrough, however, came in Quaker'sformulation of an animated black and white character called Felix. Felix: Number one by a Whiska.Marketing. References Benady, D. Even Pedigree Petfoods, the subsidiary of Marswhich promotes Whiskas, stated that cats preferred the gel in Felix overtheir gel, which was primarily used to simply bind the rest of their catfood mixture (Bidlake, 1992). In 1995 Whiskas relaunched its product, packaged in a bright purplelabel. (1995, June 9). Whiskas has also developed a new high profile television brandingcampaign aiming at presenting itself as more friendly and less sterile.The new TV ads focused on cat owners as imagining all sorts ofanthropomorphic behavior by their pets. Catfood spot works.Advertising Age. Four-legged trends. Overview of World-Wide Cat Food Market The pet food industry has grown significantly over the past 4 yearsin both Europe and the United Sales. But even more significant was the fact that Whiskassales had been sliding by at least 2% each year--and plummeting asignificant 8% in Britain in 1991 (Bidlake, 1992).Whiskas Response By the mid-199 s Felix's black and white cartoon cat had captured theimagination of cat owners around the world and helped the brand boost itsmarket share in Britain from less than 1 % in 1991 to more than 25% in1996. As a consequence of this strategy Felix sales have grown by 3 % invalue each year since 1989, during which time overall cat market growth inBritain was only 2%. In Europe, and particularly Britain,supermarket sales still account for a significant proportion of cat foodsales but, as in the U.S., mass merchandisers and pet store chains offerstrong competition. Petrie, R. Quaker Oats, the former owner of Felix cat food, was worried about itspoor showing in the 197 s when the cat food was primarily viewed as a valueproduct sold through wholesalers at the cheap end of the market. The packaging redesign alsoseemed to hit all the right buttons. Whiskas cat food was launched in the United Kingdom in 1948 and hasheld the number one spot in cat food sales in that country ever since. Careful formulation and keen pricing appearedto play a crucial role in the Felix success story. Truismsare stated in the ad and are immediately disabused. Marketing Week. However this market is also becoming more competitive. Los Angeles Times, B1-B2. Felix also introduced its brand through advertising on television, ashad Whiskas. Whiskas cat food was being viewed as more cold and clinical and itsadvertising copy had undergone a series of transitions that failed tochange this image. "Cats hate water," says thenext card and this time we see a cat happily taking a bath. However while gaining attention on supermarket shelves this labelapparently generated confusion among consumers. (October 1996). Initially its message was built around the idea that"eight out of ten owners say their cats prefer it," through "cats would buyWhiskas," to "between you and us they (cats) could be in no better hands."These types of revisions indicated that the brand was in trouble (Benady,1996). Bidlake, S. Both manufacturers are now formulating their respectiveproducts to appeal more directly to cat owners.The new frontier in this type of marketing appears to be a moresophisticated understanding and appreciation of the relationship betweencats and their owners. (1996, May 1 ). The title card says "Cats loveNew Whiskas," and we see a bowl of cat food sitting on a kitchen floor,neglected. But, yes, a cat scoots into the frame and starts chowing down,so that the final title card says merely, "Phew." (Garfield, 1996).Conclusion Both Whiskas and Felix used high-profile television advertising intheir marketing campaigns. Whiskas had failed tocommunicate clearly the different flavors and varieties and was eventuallyforced to introduce a color-coding device (Petrie, 1995). But the TV brandingcampaign not only blunted the price competitiveness of many supermarketsown-label catfood alternatives in Britain, it made Whiskas appear cold andclinical by comparison. Theydecided to appeal to cat owners' empathy and said little directly about thefood (Bidlake, 1992). Furthermore in both Europe and the U.S. The promoters of Felix maintain that humans bought itbecause they loved the chunky bits of meat which they saw in the can. In the U.S. Then, finally, the payoff in the ad. For these individuals Felixbecame a big brand. The best source material on these twocat foods comes from Britain and therefore the analysis which follows willfocus on the British market. Whiskas finally appears to have followed the leadset by Felix and is now positioning its brand as also being warm, playful,and friendly. A new TV spot begins with a bit ofconventional wisdom: "Cats are very independent" says the title card, aswe see a woman walking her cat on a leash. The ad then goes on with the statement "cats relieve stress," and theimage is of a cat stalking some unknown prey right out the frame and thenright back in, because now the cat is fleeing and the prey--a little mouseis in pursuit. catownership is not growing as fast as it once was and in both Europe and theU.S. InEurope, Whiskas was promoted primarily through a classic strategy forpackaged goods marketing--the use of high profile television advertising.Whiskas maintained its dominant brand ranking in the moist catfood sector(canned and foil tubes) until the early 199 s (Bidlake, 1992). The product was seen was being warm, playful, andfriendly. (1992, December 3). Theydecided to totally remake the product, figuring that it had little toloose. In addition, both areas of the world have seen a growing diversity ofoutlets for cat food products. with cat food sales totalling close to $3.4 billion. He waspresented as a "loveable rogue" who was to be seen as a bit more of anadventurer than the more traditional cute cat. The result was a new high quality product with redesignedpackaging, introduced through innovative advertising on a shoestringbudget.Felix Felix cat food, in its new formulation, was pitched as a premiumproduct at a low price. Whiskas revamps to claw back share.Marketing Week. Quaker introduced a new Felix formulation of meatmorsels in gel. There are an estimated 31.7 millioncat owners in the U.S. And by thistime the viewer begins to get a sense of where this is all going. Miller, G. (1994, October 29). Onthe other hand cats cannot get enough of the gel which is supposedly likean ice-cream for cats. grocery chainshave been introducing their own private-label cat food products (Miller,1994).Whiskas Versus Felix Whiskas and Felix cat food are two products from the same productclass and their recent marketing battles give insight into differentstrategies of brand promotion and the increasingly competitive nature ofthe world-wide cat food industry. Felix had also carved out a market image which was increasinglyviewed as superior. Consumers seemed to love the Felixpaw print endorsement on the top of the can. For after all,according to the implicit reasoning of the ad people, only a cat ownerwould understand the richness of personality and the inner complexity oftheir pets (Garfield, 1996). Thus the advertising teamseemed to aim for the hearts rather than the heads of cat owners. Next is the statement "cats hate dogs," with a picture of abig Airedale sitting in the rain soaked to the skin, while a quiet littlekitty finds dry shelter against his belly. In Britain, Quaker picked certain programs with highly loyalaudiences and concentrated solely on them.

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