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Kitten Kollege became Kat Institute of Technology. Spoofing Silicon Valley tech companies, K.I.T. is the leading pioneer institute in cat technology, behaviour and nutrition.

The hilarious conceit of having cats commanding technology made the idea feel bigger, more timely, and more global. It also worked as a progression to Kitten Kollege, ensuring coherence for countries where it was deployed.

Episodes featured jokes straight from the data and insights collected: senior feeding poked fun at health fads, whilst mixed diet was conveyed in a #foodporn video.

Search-query content also evolved, going from lectures with humans to animations - not only cost-effective, but helpful in making detailed care information playful.

Our extra promotional episode was very tongue-in-cheek: Cardboard Box 2.0, a box replete with special perforations, announced in an Apple -style video. Given as a freebie by retailers, it was also activated with a PR stunt at CEBIT, Europe's biggest tech convention

The creative idea needed to become broader.

We compiled data from multiple sources (search, social listening, category audits, audiences), 'cleaned' it (eg. 'cat videos'), categorised and optimised topics, creating 25 potential briefs to prioritise across two pillars.

EPISODIC REACH-DRIVING CONTENT drives awareness of the platform and encourages consideration with episodes fea turing one piece of advice.

Search queries with the highest volume informed them - but the step change was to prioritise those which tackled growth opportunities and barriers.

1. Felines are generally fussy, and mixing dry and wet food helps - a strategy of developed markets.

2. Whilst older cats get fussier, people don't notice as they take longer to age physically.

3. In emerging countries, where driving penetration is key, search around feeding cats human food showed owners' loving intentions.

4. 58% of cats are overweight, and playing with them is beneficial.

5. Feeding kitten food for longer.

One extra episode was a promotion, driving in-store traffic, bumpers used for retargeting.

SEARCH QUERY CONTENT tactically builds presence when owners are looking for advice. More information-heavy, it comprises 13 videos covering feeding, behaviour, and grooming topics

Launched in the UK, and since rolled-out in Russia and Germany (and with SEO in Canada), K.I.T. has been a success across all metrics.

• Best ROI ever for Mars on digital: profit ROI of 3.2:1 and sales ROI of 8.5:1 (UK);

• Sales uplifts of 3.6%, 3.9% and 4.5% in UK, Russia and Germany;

• 91 million views globally, exceeding paid media by 40%;

• Uplifts in SEO rankings and website traffic across all 4 countries;

• 537% increase in mentions of ‘Whiskas’, 104% rise in positive sentiment;

• 14 MM earned impressions.

Deployed in Germany, Cardboard Box 2.0 reached 6.6 million views, whilst the CEBIT stunt generated 40 MM earned impressions. 2,500 retailers nationwide (150% more than average promotions - excited traders expanded space) distributed 50,000 boxes, with profit ROI of 2.2:1.