• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, September 11, 2024

Cash, the bodega cat, stars in Chewy’s new ads

Chewy doesn’t just know your pet’s name. The ecommerce company even knows how many pet names you have for your pets. (That’s two or more nicknames, at least for 55% of Gen Z and millennial pet parents.) A new campaign called “For life with pets” explores those names, which often reflect the animal’s distinctive personality as well as the imaginations of the owners. Spots star Cash, who constantly wins Employee of the Month at Bill’s Bodega; a trio of dogs – Roo, a vocal golden retriever who says his name all day long; Summit, who can’t stop climbing; and Radar, whose oversized ears demand admiration.

Orlena Yeung, Chewy’s chief brand officer, tells Retail Insider why the Plantation, Florida-based company is using its research on pet names to build brand momentum

Interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Retail Insider: What do pet names tell you about customers?

Orlena Yeung: It's a larger overall insight about how we provide endearment. Names have been written about throughout centuries. Our internal team created this campaign to explore the backstory behind a pet's name. What’s your pet’s name?

Retail Insider: Bolo, short for Be on the Lookout. He’s a springer spaniel who got his name because he was so hard to catch when he was a puppy.

Yeung: See, you prove my point. Obviously, all pets have names. But when you dive into them and how an animal comes to be called that name, it manifests in how we think about what's essential for our pets, and of course, that manifests in their Chewy order.

Each spot demonstrates the proud promise of our campaign platform: For life with pets, there’s Chewy with everything. Every Chewy order is customized to satisfy pets’ unique tastes and needs, and Chewy can deliver whatever pets and pet parents need to live their best lives together.

Retail Insider: Many people pick names differently -- like, “I’ve always wanted a dog named Bella.”

Yeung: Yes, and by the way, Bella is still No. 1 in dog names, followed by Luna. But many names are inspired by appearances, behavior, lifestyle and proclivities, or just evolve that way. Our dog is a Shiba Inu named Higgins, after the “Magnum PI” character, and we picked that out before we even got him. But he’s developed just that kind of personality – he’s this funny, fastidious purist. He only eats single-ingredient food.

My Chewy box is very specific, and we always joke, “Did we do this? Did we make him take on these traits just by naming him?”

Retail Insider: I love that the ads focus on the pet but also promote major elements of your success -- autoship, for example, and the app -- which are important but boring. All ecommerce companies have them.

Yeung: When you think about the role of mass media versus the other layers of marketing that we do, you’ll see we do talk a lot about autoship, just like we talk about the importance of healthcare. These ads specifically address all the highs and lows of being a parent. Summit loves fresh air, which means seasonal allergies, fleas and ticks. What we pride ourselves on is that we truly understand there are highs and lows of being a pet parent, as well as the simple everyday routines -- like putting food and medicine on autoship.

Retail Insider: Chewy’s sales are up -- not much, but better than some competitors. Consumers are trading down in many areas of their lives due to macroeconomic concerns. How is that impacting your 20 million active customers?

Yeung: We're seeing the same macro trends, and in our hard goods business, there are some ebbs and flows. But we believe our business is resilient because your pet is your family. And you feed your family, right? You make sure your family has health care and exercise. We’ve seen our net sales per customer go up.

And we are seeing a lot of brightness in healthcare. We’re pleasantly surprised by the adoption of Chewy Vet Care, our brick-and-mortar vet practices, not just for Chewy customers but for new customers.

Retail Insider: Besides continuing to build your brand, is there a specific mission for these new ads?

Yeung: This campaign is part of our steady drumbeat of brand building. We try to make sure our personality comes through in everything -- whether it is a TV campaign like this one, a performance ad or a direct mailer. We want to show that we understand what it means to be a pet parent, showcase our incredible assortment, highlight our prices, and let people know how quickly we deliver to your door.

Retail Insider: Taylor Swift just endorsed Kamala Harris for president, and the photo she used includes Benjamin Buttons, one of her cats. It makes me want to ask: Do you ever feel like Chewy ads are increasingly in competition with the flood of adorable pet personalities on social media?

Yeung: Businesses have always used pets. Everyone uses pets. Our value proposition is what shines through. Most people at Chewy are also pet parents, and we listen to our customers. Our ads communicate that we offer what pet parents need. It’s not just that we let pets star in our ads. Our story goes much deeper.

Chewy’s campaigns are often complementary to social media trends and the social media pet stars we love. One of the reasons some pet influencers are so lovable is because of their unique characteristics. A couple of our past ad campaigns with talking pets, like “Pets Aren’t Just Pets, They’re More” and “Chatty Pets,” also celebrate social trends, like pet parents who share their pets’ inner thoughts.