Freshpet launches TV ad campaign for dog food

Freshpet launched an advertising campaign for its dog food that includes television commercials airing during programming on ABC, NBC and CBS, as well as on more than 20 cable networks, like Animal Planet and Food Network.
The TV ad campaign, which includes one 30-second ad and two 15-second ads, was created for the company by Darling Agency. The first round of Freshpet ads runs through late June, and the second round will air from August through October. Freshpet's decision to invest the 2011 media/marketing budget in the TV campaign came from 2009 testing of various media in key markets.
"We saw 30% sales lifts -- I mean sustained lifts -- with the television, so the power of that medium for our strategy was clear, and we moved to a small national cable campaign in 2010," said Freshpet vice president of marketing, Kathryn Winstanley. "With our quickly expanding distribution, we saw a huge opportunity to move to a much more significant campaign with agency creative this year. These products are truly unique - they're not just another brand of flavored kibble that sits on shelves for years sometimes. We're redefining the pet food category, and that requires marketing and other investment."
Freshpet also employs social media and continues to test print, billboards and other media for advertising campaigns.