First and foremost, this is NOT a hit piece on the use of our furry friends in advertising. In fact, we love it (when it makes sense). This article isn’t a fluff piece, either –– we’re here to create more meaningful connections with consumers. 

Now, maybe you landed on this page because you’re a dog-lover. Or maybe you’re a cat-lover that loves marketing data. Either way, the joy that comes from seeing a dog (or a statistic about ourselves) in an ad makes us much more likely to engage.

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Sure, you can see by the chart that adding a dog will certainly “increase engagement.” But some marketing experts say it’s a cheap tactic to use pets when advertising non-animal related brands.

We’ve learned that these vanity metrics are about more than just the dog.

It’s all about the emotion the dog evokes: Joy. The old adage, “when in doubt, add a dog” simply isn’t enough for a long-term growth strategy. If you want success, you’ll need to use the right data and research to find that ownable factor about your brand or category that creates joy in consumers’ lives –– and unleash it.

Our Brand Joy Lab has spent the last year researching the emotional connection between brands and consumers through surveys of up to 4,000 Americans and counting. Check out this report, where we unveil the potential of joy to drive consumer happiness and brand growth.

At PETERMAYER, we specialize in using data-driven consumer insights to discover how to unleash Brand Joy into people’s lives. So, if you want to see more research, data and marketing insights like these, just sign up for our monthly Tandemonium Newsletter below.