• by Les Luchter , April 26, 2024

Dog-walking is a very healthy human activity, but allergy sufferers tend to take shorter walks during peak pollen periods.

That’s due to such symptoms as sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes causing people to go “scrambling back indoors,” according to Kenvue’s Zyrtec. So the allergy brand teamed up with the Wooftrax app to encourage longer walks through a “Pet Pawsitivity Walk Challenge.”

With Wooftrax, users log their dog walks in real time to raise money for local animal charities.

Launched on March 16 and running through the end of May, the goal of the Pet Pawsitivity Walk Challenge was to achieve 250,000 walks (10 times around the earth’s circumference), but that number was surpassed by Friday, Wooftax founder Doug Hexter told Marketing Daily. That adds up to some 300,000 miles walked, he said.

“We’re speaking to hundreds of thousands of dog lovers and pet parents who are regularly going outside and being exposed to allergens, allowing us to reach a new, yet relevant audience,” said Jenn Lovell, head of ZyrtecAllergy for Kenvue.

“We’re not only providing allergy solutions,” she explained, “but funding relief for animals in shelters….We’re looking forward to making a donation of $25,000 to Mutual Rescue,” an initiative that helps save pets through local shelters and rescue groups.

The $25,000 figure was based on a 10-cent donation per each participant walking their dog over a quarter mile in a day. Now that Zyrtec’s goal of $250,000 has been reached, walks will continue to support user’s selected pet charities.

Due to the success of the Pet Pawsitivity Walk Challenge, Lovell revealed that Zyrtec has extended its partnership with the nonprofit, including an August donation to help fund the organization’s Doggy Day Out program, which allows people to take dogs from local shelters on day outings.

For the Walk Challenge, pet influencers helped to get word out to consumers, as shown in these Instagram and TikTok posts from influencer Chilaquil.