Entering 2021, people were looking for ways to feel safer and more secure at home. Google Nest had an opportunity to help ease that prevailing sense of vulnerability with a new line of home security cameras and doorbells with intelligent alerts that know the difference between a person, package or animal.

The growing home security landscape had become a cacophony of noise, with every brand offering the same nebulous “peace of mind.” To raise awareness and consideration of Google Nest smart home devices, Google had to break through the category. How could Google Nest stand out?

Nest Pets shows the magic of Google Nest security cameras from our pet’s perspective. The creative brings to life a world of talking animals saying and doing outrageous things at home while demonstrating how the new cameras tell the difference between people, packages and animals. The social campaign uses real Nest Cam footage paired with the voices of some of culture’s favorite pet-loving, comedic influencers to tell the story of home awareness in a lighthearted way.

With the crime-prevention storytelling angle well established in the home security category, Google Nest took a lighter, more insightful approach in showing how these devices help keep an eye on your home. People were already using the cameras to check in on their pets – even sharing their pet’s home alone antics caught on camera using the hashtag #CaughtOnNestCam.

Recognizing that 86% of their target audience are pet owners and pet adoptions were up 70% during the pandemic, Google leaned into these audience truths to show the helpfulness of Nest cameras and doorbells through the lovable and approachable lens of pets. The campaign leveraged pet-loving influencers to create entertaining content and spark conversation around checking in on your home while you’re away.

Nest Pets is a social-first campaign and an innovative take on influencer marketing that launched on National Dog Day, a popular day for celebrating dogs on social media.

The series ran on social platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and the Nextdoor neighborhood app. Films were posted on owned social channels by the brand and some of culture’s favorite animal-loving, comedic influencers who also voiced the pet characters in the films.

The campaign was extended by pet influencers, who unboxed the products and shared their own #CaughtOnNestCam content with their communities. Consumers amplified the idea with #CaughtOnNestCam videos and Giphy stickers.

Nest Pets gained 60M total impressions on social media through owned and influencer channels.

The campaign was Google’s highest performing influencer campaign for Nest in the US in 2021. Collectively, influencers created over 100 content pieces, 350K engagements, and sparked strong sentiment (97% positive and neutral sentiment). Content posted by influencers drove 5.9% overall engagement in the US, +557% engagement vs. the previous year's campaign.

Nest Pets lifted key brand metrics against the target audience: 8pt+ lift in Awareness, 5pt+ lift in Consideration, and 4pt+ lift in Purchase Intent.