The idea for this campaign began and ended with data. Starting with search data revealing an important truth that dog lovers are becoming increasingly picky with the characteristics they want from a dog.

It’s almost like they don’t want a dog at all.

Meowzer’s innovative use of data was to intercept people looking for the impossibly perfect dog and suggest a cat instead, proving the power of data in not only sparking a creative campaign but also fuelling its delivery, cultural impact and effectiveness.

New Zealand is a nation of dog lovers, and like many countries COVID lockdowns saw a boom in dog ownership. But in New Zealand, WFH has pivoted almost completely back to WFO, and with that there’s been an increase in dogs being returned to shelters. A huge 33% of dogs are returned to shelters due to incompatibility with their owners lifestyles.

Meanwhile, March and April are the busiest breeding months for cats, meaning cat shelters across New Zealand are at bursting point at this time of year. Whiskas saw an opportunity to tackle both issues at once, helping people find the right pet for their lifestyle and circumstances, namely a cat.

WHISKAS are on a mission to end cat homelessness by 2030. But with cat shelters in New Zealand at breaking point, they needed to find new potential pet parents who were willing to add a cat to their household.

But cats have stiff competition you may have heard of…dogs. Everyyyone wants a dog. In fact 1/3 of households worldwide have one. Yet, 33% of adopted dogs are returned the shelters by owners who weren’t prepared for the commitment they require. So, while many people might like to think of themselves as dog people, their one-bedroom, urban working lives just aren’t ready for one.

Enter the cat.

Everyone wants a dog. But people’s lives have changed in ways that don’t always align with responsible dog ownership. More than ever we’re living in apartments, giving up WFH, loving the idealism of dog ownership, without the commitment. Search data reflects this, with people searching for impossibly low-maintenance dogs: that don’t need exercise, training, or can stay home alone, inside a small apartment.

The perfect dog doesn’t exist. So, WHISKAS created it – The Meowzer. A new breed of dog designed to get more cats adopted.

By rebranding shelter cats as Meowzers, we showed the world that everything they’re looking for in a dog, can be answered by a cat.

Wherever people searched for dogs, they met the Meowzer instead. By cross-referencing their digital footprint and search terms we intercepted searches for dogs and presented the Meowzer. Our site then matched adopters with the perfect shelter cat for their lifestyle.

We analysed the types of dogs' people were looking for, how and where they were searching for them - Google, TikTok and pet-platforms specifically. We found searches for impossibly perfect dogs such as ‘dog breeds that can be left alone’ and ‘dogs that don’t bark’ have nearly doubled in the past year, with keyword search volume platforms predicting these to increase another 20 – 25% by the end of this year.

This was our opportunity.

This insight enabled us to find a new way to talk to our audience, and better yet, a new place to talk to our audience. Leveraging digital behavioural signals, we created an omnichannel targeting approach – talking to those people who are actively looking for a dog that doesn’t exist.

With every search for an unrealistic dog came a chance to intercept that picky dog searcher with with the suggestion of a Meowzer instead.

The Meowzer intercepted people searching for the impossibly perfect dog at every turn. Whether they were in the initial stages of researching breeds or looking at specific dogs in their area - the Meowzer showed up. Not only did we show potential adopters that a Meowzer was the right ‘dog’ for them, but we used their search terms in our creative to show them why.

Every interception drove people to our adoption platform where the user answered a series of questions providing information on their home and lifestyle. The platform then cross-referenced this with the individual cat needs and served the user with an adoptable Meowzer best suited for them, at a shelter near to them.

The Meowzer is a win-win for dogs and cats, by ensuring dogs end up in homes that can meet their needs, while overflowing cat shelters can find new loving homes for cats.

-11.9 million dog searches intercepted by relevant Meowzer content.

-25x increase in cat consideration

-27% increase in adoption.