Purina, the pet food subsidiary of Nestlé, wanted to reach and promote its Pro Plan range of science-based nutrition products to dog and cat owners in the UAE. To achieve this, it needed to identify and gather data about pet owners first before engaging with this most relevant audience with precision.

Purina called on MEmob+, the data mining and monetisation platform owned by Akama Holding, to help in this endeavor.

Collecting and mining the data

Using its AllPings™ proprietary location-based technology, MEmob+ set up geo-fences around pet shops and veterinary clinics. They allowed it to capture the details of people spending between 30 minutes and four hours in these relevant locations, making sure they were clients rather than employees. More than 1 million pet owners’ device IDs were collected.

This data was refined further with pet owners’ answers to short surveys from the MEmob+ research team. They determined the type of pets, their age and nutritional needs. Respondents were also probed on their pet food brand preferences and shopping habits. This helped Purina assess its market share and its competitors’ better.

Activating the data

Using these insights, the MEmob+ team built key audience segments based on the type of pets owned. Updated continuously, they provide additional customer demographic and interest data to inform marketing and creative decisions. 

Purina and MEmob+ were able to design a fully addressable and personalized advertising campaign. They used Dynamic Creative Optimisation (DCO) to tailor the messaging and format for each impression in real time. Four distinct campaigns ran (dog, cat, puppy and kitten), each designed to reach and stimulate engagement from their clearly identified audience segment.

Monetizing the data

The multichannel campaign was served through the MEmob+ Stretch™ DMP on display and social media sites. It eliminated any kind of audience duplication, optimized the budget by 56%, and delivered a great ROI.

The campaign, with all its sub-sets, performed strongly. At 8.98%, the overall engagement rate beat the category benchmark. The clickthrough rate (1.68%) was also over three times higher than the average score. It peaked at 1.95% at the end of the campaign.

More importantly, this led to higher traffic in Purina Pro Plan points of sale, both retailers and e-tailers, and a 50% increase in new customer acquisition.

With a regular feed of segmented device ID data and custom audience segments, Purina’s data-driven approach is now always-on. The company will be able to deliver tailored messages at the right time and place, convert and upsell consumers, and boost Pro Plan’s market share further.

“MEmob+ has developed an effective customer-first, data-driven digital strategy for us that allowed for precise and personalized customer targeting. Most importantly, it has translated into real engagement with our customers, increased awareness for our Pro Plan range, stimulated new customer acquisition, and generated measurable business outcomes,” says Daria Myskina, Brand Manager at Nestlé Purina Middle East.

“Communicating to the core target audience at the right time when they are most receptive is key to any advertiser, imagine how crucial it is for a pet food brand. We always try to minimize the huge spillover of media campaigns for Purina, as it’s almost impossible to target only pet owners. With MEmob’s data-driven approach, we’ve enhanced the performance of our media campaigns. The Purina campaign with MEmob+ points to an exciting future in the way we communicate with pet owners, understanding and responding to their needs where and when they need us. Mass is no longer the blunt instrument it once was and we can now really tailor at scale in a relevant and engaging manner, with an impressive and positive impact on our ROI,” says Wassim Barbara, Head of Media at Nestlé MENA.