By the end of 1999, Pfizer Animal Health had an itch that needed to be scratched. The firm made a big splash with the launch of "Revolution," a topical treatment that protects
dogs and cats from a range of parasites, including heartworm and fleas. After a year of strong sales ($110 million worth) it was time to breathe new life into the product, also
known as "selamectin." But as a government-sanctioned substance, the medication could not simply be tweaked in order to haul out a standard "new-and-improved" campaign.
"Because it is an FDA-approved product, there are not changes that you can make overnight," says Mike Fryar, an account executive with Minneapolis-based Colle & McVoy, one
of a number of agencies working with Pfizer Animal Health. "So there was a real question about how to keep it in the tops of the minds of consumers and veterinarians."
The solution: A towering plastic dog and cat with rotating heads, mounted on a 25-foot truck. Campaign organizers hoped the "Revolution Mobile"- fabricated by Santa Barbara,
Calif.-based Prototype Source, makers of Oscar Mayer's Wienermobile - would pique the interest of consumers and vets, and make for some howling good photo ops.
Dog Days
Pfizer's $500,000 vehicle hit the road May 6, 2000 and traveled the country until mid-November, stopping at dog and cat shows, veterinary offices and Humane Society events.
The traveling troupe - which included two vets offering live demos - also rolled into public gatherings such as Orlando's "Fall Fiesta" community celebration, Boston's
"Harborfest," the Texas Wildlife Expo and the Great Outdoors Festival in Oshkosh, Wis.
Some 400,000 people interacted with the Revolution mobile, which offered printed information about pet parasites, veterinary health and (of course) Revolution. Video
presentations on 24 square feet of built-in display screens featured goofy footage of frolicking pets, along with general pet health tips.
Barking Up the Right Media Trees
The key benefit for consumers was that they no longer needed to "shove pills down their dogs' throats for heartworm," says Fryar. The tricky part was digging up the right
venues to convey this message. "Since a lot of media outlets don't have pet editors or pet writers, the media relations program varied," says Fryar. That meant legwork aplenty.
"We might talk to the living section, or we might do a spot with the local weather guy the day before the event. We had to research out a lot of past media in each [geographic]
area in order to find the places where our message made sense and would fit."
Bark vs. Bite
Did the road trip work? It's tough to say. Pfizer wanted leads to potential consumers, and the roving canine concept generated a list of nearly 20,000 folks who said they
were interested in receiving more information. That's a plus.
The firm also hoped to dig up some media coverage, and the campaign scored some 500 million impressions in television, radio and print, including ink in the Los Angeles
Times and Boston Herald, and TV segments in Philly, Chicago and New York. Another plus.
Presumably, though, Pfizer also hoped to generate more sales for Revolution. And whether or not the campaign moved the needle in this regard remained a question mark a month
and a half after the truck was parked.
"I cannot quantify it in terms of sales and dollars," says Jim Brick, Pfizer's product manager for Revolution in the U.S. market.
Nevertheless, Brick says he's satisfied with the overall campaign results. "I can tell you that we had thousands of response cards turned in by pet owners and obviously our
hope is that they followed up with their veterinarians. I know we influenced thousands of pet owners, at least from an educational standpoint," he says.
With a cool half-mil invested in its promotional "vehicle," it's likely Pfizer will roll out the Revolution Mobile again later this year.
"Our season for parasite prevention really begins in the spring time, and we do intend to have the Revolution Mobile be a part of our overall marketing strategy again this
year," Brick says, "although exactly how it will fit in remains to be determined."
-Adam Katz-Stone
Old Dog, New Tricks
One important lesson learned en route: the best public forum is not always the one you expect. "In the beginning we had aimed [our route] more towards pet events, but as we
went along we realized we were having better luck at regular community festivals," says Mike Fryar, an account executive with Colle McVoy. "Those events usually were bigger, and
we were more of a rarity there. At a pet event you expect to see vendors and sponsors, but at these community events we were much more of a novelty, so as the year went on, we
tailored the schedule more toward general consumer events."
Agency Stats
Colle & McVoy, Inc.
Founded: 1935
HQ: Minneapolis
Clients: Pfizer Animal Health, Purina, Syngenta, Cenex/Harvest States/Land
O'Lakes,Weathershield, 3M
Billings (1999): $187 million
Employees: 300
Staff on campaign: 4 - 8 (varied)
Campaign time frame: PR team started work in Dec.1999. Truck rolled out
May 2000-Nov. 2000.
Key campaign staff: SVP/group manager Kim Fox; VP/management supervisor
Tom Lindell; AE Mike Fryar; AE Jim Poulter; AE Dana Norsten; AE Claudine Enger;
Senior AE Molly Carson
Budget: $1.5 million
On the Web: http://www.collemcvoy.com