It's All About the Pets

Brands looking to increase awareness are taking a different approach than normal. Apparently, a "man's best friend" is better at connecting with the everyday consumer online. Brands such as Marc Jacobs' are using the designer's pets to gain followers, as well as attention towards their brand. Marc Jacob's dog, Neville, has over 122,000 followers on Instagram. 

"I see more and more brands reach out about animals. They are fairly top-minded," said blogger directory Fohr Card co-founder, James Nord, about the increase in demand for non-human talent online. Today Fohr Card, is rolling out "Fur Card," which is a service that helps brands work with the most influential animals on social media. Just like their human counterparts, the animals will have their own profile page, ranked by Instagram followers. The directory consists of almost 400 animals with a combined total of over 30 million followers. Currently, Marc Jacob's dog is listed at #28th on the directory. 

Brands are finding increasingly creative ways to incorporate pets into their marketing strategies. Barney's New York did an online campaign for April Fools promoting the launch of their "Man's Best Fred's" menu (pictured) at their restaurant Fred's. Barney's found some of the most well known dogs on social media and took photos to put on the retailer's website and on Instagram that promoted the restaurants new dog-themed dsihesfor "canines with good taste." Barney's started posting the images from the photo-shoot on April 1st promoting the fake new menu as a classic prank.Animals were the subject of Lucky Brand's April Fools prank as well(pictured). 

So the question is...do you think using "Instafamous" animal is a smart move for a brand, and a great way to attract followers and potential customers? Or, do you think the whole idea is irrelevant and a waste of money?