Pet Supply Retailers Spanish-Language Ad Spending

Meet my two babies:
Sofia (gray) and Charlie ( black & white)
These spolied-brats control my life.

Last time I visited Peru, I noticed pet-ownership had become more popular; some dogs even appeared better dressed than their owners. But only in my recent visits, have I noticed specialized pet boutiques sprouting up on several street corners. That's not the case here in United States where chain pet suppliers are as popular as Wal-Marts.




Have you seen these pet stores? Raincoats and boots for my dogs? That's a little too extreme, even for a whooped owner like myself.

• Apparently, pet suppliers this year felt that investing in advertising campaigns aimed towards Hispanics was not a priority.
  
• In 2005, pet store chain advertising seen on Spanish-language media seemed to be at an all time high yet this year, spending shrank 75 percent.

In 2006, that amount shrank to $135,376. The remainder of Petsmart's budget - a mere $488 - went to local Spanish-language newspapers. ( source: HMW )

• The No. 4 advertiser is none other than Fort Lauderdale-based Pet Supermarket, who in 2005 devoted $34,200 of its dollars on Hispanic advertising. But this year, that number dropped to just $21,300. According to Nielsen, a vast majority of Pet Supermarkets can be found in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale designated market area ( DMA), but Nielsen cannot specifically pinpoint in what media Pet Supermarket spent its money. It is assumed it was spent on spanish-radio ( cheaper, & a lot of penetration is my guess).

In addition, Don Cowan, director of public relations for Petco, says the company does not do any national advertising, even for Hispanics. He says Petco has had some spanish ads but it's been awhile and the company is keeping a close-watch on Hispanic marketing needs.

Personally, I've never seen an ad about pets in Spanish, but Here's my idea:
Envision a grandmother over a stove cooking some arroz-con-pollo. Suddenly,

she looks around the room to make sure no one is watching her, grabs a spoonfool of food and throws it in the dog's bowl. Then, a Pet Supermarket representative pops-up and shows her the way to the store. Once there, abuela is amazed by the grand aisles stocked with a variety of food made specifically for dogs.

In case you were wondering, that little old lady would be my grandmother who I constantly have to reprimand. Whenever I find my dog vomiting after having spent an entire day with her, I know she didn't feed him Purina Puppy Chow.

Mister Cowan, if you need help with an ad, please feel free to contact me-I've got more where that came from.