Case Study: Pet-supply association repositions, rebrands and renames its 50-year-old event

Shows in mature industries often struggle to continue growing their attendee and exhibitor base. But the World Wide Pet Supply Association (WWPSA) was also experiencing another phenomena eating away at its exhibitor and attendee base. 

While the pet supply industry has continued to grow steadily by7 to 8 percent annually, mass merchandisers and pet superstores have cornered nearly half the market in the last decade, squeezing out independent retailers, according to a 1999 market research report by Kalorama Information LLC. “Pet superstores are the latest example of the ‘category killer’ phenomenon that changed the face of retailing in many markets during the 1980s, including such well-known examples as Toys “R” Us in the toy market and Home Depot in the home improvement market,” according to the report.

“Mass merchandisers (discounters, such as Wal-Mart and Kmart) have emerged as the leading pet supply retailers, with 27 percent of sales, up from approximately 18 percent in 1985,” according to the report. “Starting from virtually zero in the mid-1980s, pet superstores and pet store chains have grown to become the second-ranking retail sector for pet supply products, holding an estimated 26 percent of the market. 
“Supermarkets and independent pet stores have suffered most from the increased sales of mass merchandisers and the advent of superstores. Packaged Facts estimates that the supermarket share of the marketfor pet supplies decreased from 28 percent in 1985 to 19 percent in 1998, while the independent pet store share decreased by half, from 30 to 14 percent.” 

While these buyers may have more purchasing power, WWPSA has felt the effects with declines in attendance. In addition, the industry has experienced consolidation on the exhibitor side. “Over the last several years, we had fewer exhibiting companies,” says Doug Poindexter, WWPSA Executive Vice President. “Booth space hasn’t decreased by much, but the number of companies has.” 

To meet the industry’s changing dynamics, the association decided to overhaul its show — starting with a new name, SuperZoo. 

But beyond a simple name change, the association has expanded its exhibitor and attendee base by co-locating with Birdwatch America (see sidebar on this page) and adding a new Outdoor Living Pavilion, with lawn and garden products, to the show floor. “Both of these industry sectors have seen steady growth and will help us attract new buyers and exhibitors to the show,” says Poindexter. 
The strategy appears to be working. At its annual show in July, overall attendance increased 25 percent.

The name game
WWPSA hired the Marketing Design Group to help the association come up with a new name and logo for its show. In May 1999, the agency conducted a competitive analysis, evaluating the overall market and growth trends, as well as the show’s and its competitors’ market share. “Sometimes it helps to get fresh eyes on the problem,” says DenisePaccione, President of the San Diego-based Marketing Design Group.

Paccione says she quickly discovered a couple of issues: the four pet supply trade shows, including theWWPSA, focused on regions and most had long names that didn’t 
really say anything about the shows, she says. WWPSA’s show was simply called the WWPSA Annual Pet Industry Trade Show.

“Did the attendees recognize the names? No. There was the ‘Tampa show,’ and the ‘distributor show,’ ” Paccione says. “And WWPSA was facing another competing show this year in the same region of the country around the same time. It was a prescription for disaster, and I told them that.”

So with the blessing of WWPSA’s 14-member board, Paccione began to search for a new identity for the group. SuperZoo came about after a discussion with the board about Europe’s tradition of calling pet stores zoos. 

“As a whole, the people in the pet industry are advocates, and they got into the business in the first place because they love animals. They are very committed to it,” saysPaccione. So she and the association decided to focus on developing a logo that was warm and friendly. “Also, the show is the only one in the industry that includes livestock, so we decided to play up that distinctive factor by using animals.” 
The artist’s rendering of five popular pets and the colorful new logo introduced the half-century-old trade show as “a whole new animal.”
 New zoo attractions
In addition to a new name, logo and co-location, the show introduced several new features. To target the increasingly popular backyard living space, the show added the Outdoor Living Pavilion, which featured seven different kinds of backyard ponds as part of “Discovery Island.” For example, there was a bird island with an outdoor aviary, reptile island with a reptile enclosure, and a Japanese island with an oriental bridge. Attendees could relax in a lush setting to the sound of bird recordings, enjoying a latte or glass of wine. Exhibitor products were used so that attendees could see exactly how this market fit into existing business.

“The pavilion was our most expensive new addition,” says Poindexter. “We spent more than $50,000 decorating the area. We wanted to highlight the new area and create a focal point.” Thirty new companies exhibited in the pavilion.
Management also introduced walking seminars, where visitors strolled around and met owners of non-traditional pets, such as pot-bellied pigs, 

pygmy goats and rats and mice, to learn about their care and feeding. While this was unstructured and staffed by volunteers, it gave trade show attendees a chance to show off their love of animals. Along with the standard pooches, one man in top hat and tails strolled the hall with two dogs from Thailand, while another owner calmly walked a cat on a leash.

In addition, show management launched new volume buyer appointment hours for the pet superstore buyers and mass merchandisers. SuperZoo opened its doors to these attendees two hours early each day hoping such a convenience would boost sales. While the program only attracted about a dozen buyers a day, Poindexter says other retail show organizers have told him that’s pretty typical for the first year. 

Marketing the show
To communicate the message to exhibitors and attendees, WWPSA doubled its marketing budget for this year’s show. “Our marketing budget has steadily increased over the last four years,” says Poindexter. “As the marketplace has consolidated, we’ve had to draw attendees from farther away and hit them with several promotions.”

Paccione focused on what she calls an interruption campaign, sending marketing materials that are so interesting they literally interrupt a busy person. She began her efforts with an animal cracker box that mirrored the real thing seen on grocery store shelves, but substituted the WWPSA name and listed show benefits as the ingredients. Inside the box was a T-shirt with the SuperZoo logo.

“We decided against putting animal crackers inside, because we knew they’d be eaten and gone in five minutes. Since many pet stores have casual dress codes, we hoped that the retail staff would wear the shirts to work,” Paccione says. “That would be a real reminder for them of the show.”

Further, the promotional campaign stipulated that if attendees wore the T-shirt to the show, they would receive free admission to the nine seminar programs, a total value of $225. The SuperZoo shirts also could be gained through an electronic link that was promoted through e-mail, although Paccione says the e-mails were kept simple (no fancy sound effects or moving pictures) since many attendee prospects have limited computer knowledge.

There was a direct mail campaign to those in the traditional pet industry, the birding industry and the big box retailers. Each received a monthly mailing from November 1999 to June 2000.

Whole new breed
The show dates were changed from Friday-Sunday to a Sunday-Tuesday format, so that the show would open when many pet stores are closed. Retailers were encouraged to bring their entire staff. 

“It was an absolute crush on Sunday,” says Caryn Cohan-Bates, WWPSA Show Manager. 
In fact, the association was a little overwhelmed. “Board members were even helping with registration to get everyone into the show,” says Poindexter. “It was great.”

And while not everything went off without a hitch (the llamas and alpacas had to cancel), Poindexter says the trade show is headed in the right direction. The volunteer board has increased to 16 members, including retailers, and they all seem enthusiastic and committed to blazing a new trail in the pet industry, he says. Pre-registration for exhibitors is currently double where the association was at last year at this time. 

Anita Bruzzese is a freelance writer specializing in workplace and business issues. She’s a syndicated newspaper columnist for Gannett News Service and is the author of Take Thisjob and thrive.