3 Heartwarming Campaigns Build Trust with Pet Parents
Chewy is the premier online pet supplies retailer, with 20.1 million active customers and $11.15 billion in sales for fiscal year 2023. Its growth strategy marketing approach is rooted in trust and convenience:
“Our mission is to be the most trusted and convenient destination for pet parents (and partners) everywhere. We view pets (and pet parents) as family and are obsessed with meeting their needs and exceeding customer expectations through every interaction.”
Building trust with marketing campaigns may seem like an unrealistic goal—isn’t marketing primarily supposed to build revenue? These three growth strategy marketing examples show how Chewy is doing both.
- Surprise Pet Portraits
- Holiday Wishlist Charity Drive
- First-Time Customer Offer
Chewy Growth Strategy Marketing Campaign:
Surprise Pet Portraits
Chewy’s marketing genius came to my attention in October 2024, when my dear friend Bridget shared this delightful surprise she received in the mail, a painted portrait of her dog, Basil:
I could tell right away how brilliantly planned and executed this growth strategy marketing campaign is. Let’s walk through the steps. First, the customer receives a surprise package in the mail with this unboxing experience:
Next, the customer opens this fun and friendly card:
The card’s copy ties in with a relevant calendar celebration, so the customer intuits that this is a timely message:
“It’s National Pasta Day and it’s im-PASTA-ble to not celebrate together! To honor Basil’s noodle greatness, we’ve cooked up a portrait. Love, Your Chewy Family. P.S. Let’s CARB-up soon! Show us Basil’s reaction by tagging us @Chewy”
The gentle call-to-action at the end suggests what should happen next—Basil needs to see her portrait!
She’s not so sure what to think, finding herself suddenly flat like this. Adorable. In excitement and gratitude, the customer clearly can’t wait to show her pup’s likeness to all her friends. And that’s exactly what happened.
This growth strategy marketing campaign may seem an expensive way to surprise and delight customers, but the margins make sense. The brand enjoys an average $555 annual net sales per active customer. I imagine that, behind the scenes, once a customer passes a certain annual or lifetime threshold, the surprise pet portrait campaign is activated.
And the reason this campaign is so successful is that it’s also genuine. From the message to the surprise, Chewy conveys an authentic appreciation for customers. And those customers are only too pleased to become brand ambassadors.
Chewy Growth Strategy Marketing Campaign:
Holiday Wishlist Charity Drive
In the Chewy Claus sweepstakes promotion, Chewy offers two heartwarming prizes:
- Pet parents who enter may win the items on their pet’s “Chewy Claus” wishlist
- “Chewy Claus” donates one pound of pet food and supplies to pets in need for each entry received (up to 600,000 pounds)
In this way, entering the contest feels like an act of goodwill for shelter pets—because it is! You might win the prize, but less fortunate pets will certainly benefit.
Plus, the entry form is unique, in that it’s fun to fill out. It’s formatted like a letter to Chewy Claus. Here’s the entry for my dog, Bowser:
Chewy has elevated the basic sweepstakes promotion into an engaging campaign that supports its brand value of building trust. As for measurable results, the campaign generates website traffic to the eCommerce site and collects contact information.
Chewy Growth Strategy Marketing Campaign:
First-Time Customer Offer
An important part of growth strategy marketing is earning new customers. Chewy’s generous new-customer offer helps shoppers feel like they’re basically getting half off their first order.
Chewy offers a $20 eGift card with a $49 purchase for first-time customers. While this is purely a financial incentive, the brand understands that trust is built one step at a time. Chewy is confident that new customers will convert to loyal customers because of the overall experience:
“Customers love shopping our wide selection of products of approximately 115,000 products (including our Private brands and prescription Rx food and Rx medication products), which we offer at competitive prices, fast 1-2 day shipping and around-the-clock convenience that only e-commerce can offer.”
This analysis is supported by YTD 2024 earnings, which show a steady, four-to-six-percent growth, year-over-year (which, of course, doesn’t yet include the very important Q4 holiday season). From 2021 to now, gross margins have improved from 26.6% to 29%, and gross profit from $2.4B to $3.3B.
Why Trust is Particularly Important for Chewy’s Customers
Along with being a good way to do business, focusing on trust and convenience is smart for appealing to Chewy’s specific customer base. Convenience is fairly obvious—all consumers want what they want, right now.
But pet owners, in particular, seem to value loyalty. If you talk to anyone about what they love about their pet, you’re certain to hear how their pet:
- Shows unconditional love
- Is loyal beyond measure
- Likes me just for being me
It seems likely that people who are drawn to share their lives with animals also place a high value on trust and loyalty. Chewy is wise to acknowledge this reality and authentically build a brand and culture around it.
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