Royal Canin is rolling out its third ‘Summer of the Cat’ programme to encourage more cat owners into the specialist pet trade and keep them coming back for more. 

The focus on cats comes as cat ownership and the number of multi-cat owners continues to rise, and with two thirds still being fed via the grocery sector there is a massive opportunity for the specialist pet trade.

“Converting new customers and rewarding existing ones for their loyalty are the key objectives for ‘Summer of the Cat’, and now that we are into our third year we are adding new elements” says Royal Canin retail marketing manager Gemma Duffield. 

“It’s all about creating excitement and building awareness of what the specialist pet trade can offer, so that together we can offer more cats the benefits of health nutrition, and help retailers grow their business.”

This year’s activities include a Rescue Cat of the Year competition, store demonstration days, product and price promotions, a window display competition and merchandising package.

Rescue Cat of the Year

According to recent research by Petplan 37% of cat owners now choose their pet from a rescue centre rather than buying from breeders or pet shops, and this is an area Royal Canin has been working with for some time. 

“We are in partnership with rescues all over the country, and ‘Summer of the Cat’ 2013 will highlight their work and help build business for the specialist pet trade at the same time” Gemma comments.

Rescue Cat of the Year will see the rescue centre the winning cat came from receiving a month’s free food for 50 cats (based on 2kg of food per cat per month), while the owner themselves will win one month’s free food (2kg). 

Owners of rescue cats who received Royal Canin packs when they collected their pets from a rescue centre are eligible, and voting is via www.royalcanin.co.uk/rescuecat2013.  Voters will be rewarded with an email money-off voucher for Royal Canin’s cat range, and are limited to one vote per person.

Demo days

Creating ‘noise’ at street level is a powerful way of generating new custom, so Royal Canin is offering a special demo day pack, containing personalised advertising flyers and posters plus goody bags for consumers.  Retailers should contact their regional business manager for more information.

Powerful promotions

Retailers taking part in ‘Summer of the Cat’ will benefit from a range of promotions.  Buyers of 3.5-4kg bags from Royal Canin’s cat ranges can collect items to build a cat tower, consisting of a scratching post, a top board with toys attached, and a cat tunnel.  “The aim is to create repeat purchase on these medium sized bags” Gemma says “so that retailers can build a bond with customers while the consumer is getting a great reward.”

Wet food will be on a 69p per sachet trial price offer, and a 400g trial price stand is also available.  10kg bags will contain 2kg extra and 2kg will contain 400g extra, again giving real benefits to loyal customers and driving trial.

Wake up your windows!

As in previous years, there will be a retailer display competition, judged on impact, creativity and effect on sales.  All retailers taking part will need to keep their ‘Summer of the Cat’ displays in place for a minimum of four weeks to enable a ‘mystery shopper’ to visit.  14 regional winners will receive an iPad mini, and the top three national winners will receive bonus bond vouchers to use at a range of high street stores.

mycat app

Royal Canin has joined forces with Petlog, Bayer and Fetch Digital in the new mycat app.  Available free on iPhone for a limited period to celebrate ‘Summer of the Cat’ it features a Lost Cat Alert to help reunite lost cats with their owners; a unique directory of cat friendly businesses; a guide to cat health; and Cattitude!, revealing the mysterious world of cats.

In summing up, Gemma said: “We believe ‘Summer of the Cat’ 2013 will be the best one yet.  We’ve developed the idea even more and focused on creating really targeted activities which will deliver new customers and create a relationship with them to ensure they become long-term customers for our specialist pet trade partners, as well as rewarding current Royal Canin customers for their loyalty.”

For more information about ‘Summer of the Cat’ 2013, contact your Royal Canin retail business manager, call 0845 606 9980, or visit www.royalcanin.co.uk