Knowing dog owners spare no expense when it comes to their pets, we saw an opportunity to help owners realize another way they could champion their dogs: by ditching booties. So we launched Boot The Boot, a digital campaign that leveraged the emotional connection owners have with their pets to drive awareness of a far less embarrassing (and harmful) option: Morton Safe-T-Pet. The video simply yet powerfully contrasted the humility of booties against the freedom of Morton Safe-T-Pet. And we amplified our message through sources pet owners find most trustworthy: dogs themselves. Celebrity dogs like Theo Bonaparte and Toby the Little Dude helped spread our message, while partnerships with Instagram influencer The Dogist and the Humane Society featured adoptable dogs who Boot the Boot. By giving man’s best friend a voice when they didn’t have one, we showed owners the simple solution to give dogs their dignity back: Morton Safe-T-pet.

Because ice melt is often a last minute purchase, we not only had to get in front of the storm, but we needed to target awareness in cities most affected by the dangers of ice melt. Therefore we used weather activation and geo targeting to help launch Boot the Boot in key locations just as winter picked up. This strategic timeline was complimented by leveraging the resources pet parents find most trustworthy: dogs themselves. Partnering with celebrity dog influencers, Instagram influencer The Dogist and the Humane Society, we leveraged untraditional activists for change to amplify our message and give it the attention of a public service announcement. By ensuring our video was seen in the places most affected by harmful ice melts, and by the people who love dogs the most, we ensured our message was delivered to those who would be most receptive and needing to Boot the Boot.

Boot the Boot’s adorable and actionable message generated more than 25 million impressions, nearly 8 million views, and over 35,000 shares. Moreover, the digital video saw over 175,000 social engagements, with a stunning 84% of those social engagements being organic as viewers genuinely watched and shared the video. And our untraditional influencers-for-change proved just how trusted they are as a resource for pet parents. Dog influencers Theo Bonaparte and Little Dude delivered double the organic engagement than we paid for, with 40% of total engagement for the whole campaign coming from two loveable Instagram dogs. By strategically delivering emotionally-driven content to pet parents in snowy cities, we drove awareness as well as action to those who needed our message the most.