Even the best breeds need incentives

AlphaVet is a Central-European B2B market leader in producing and distributing veterinary pharmaceuticals and feed additives in 36 countries. Where they needed support was at one of their divisions, Grandopet, responsible for pet food and pet equipment commercialisation.

Their online presence, however, hid significant potential to grow in digital. As the pandemic hit, physical sales fell considerably, but the potential for digital grew stronger than ever: it has become vital. Grandopet's situation worsened when the competition picked up the pace of its digital transformation due to COVID, leaving the company behind.

Eventually, Grandopet understood it needed a fresh and different approach to digital transformation for the brand value to grow and increase its online revenue.

This realisation was the first step leading to our collaboration.

Grandopet engaged with Cognitive Creators and launched a digital consulting collaboration in the second quarter of 2021. To demonstrate that Grandopet can achieve considerable growth with the help of Cognitive Creators, we embarked on a seven-month-long Pilot project. The project aimed to re-evaluate and then strengthen Grandopet’s B2C e-commerce business in the Hungarian market, where the company set a KPI of 20% monthly growth in revenue over the seven months.

Planning before acting. Before diving into the Pilot, understanding the customers' behaviours and valid expectations was a prerequisite. To grow Grandopet's relevance among its customers, we analysed the behavioural patterns of key audiences on the website. Then, to assess the company's position in the competitors' landscape, we analysed the market specifics and trends in-depth. Once we got a grip on these strategic fundamentals, we could set sail.

Data is a four-legged word

Growth ignited by data-driven mindset

Working on the Grandopet project needed a data-driven mindset, a major shift from their previously common practice of being experience-driven. Bringing a new perspective to a team with established dynamics and changing the old ways for better results is not happening overnight. Throughout our collaboration, we had a major role in highlighting the importance of data interpretation in the context of strategic growth. Once we successfully guided the internal team through the process of planning based on the available data, we had a straight path to the finish line concerning the initially set KPI for the Pilot phase.

We also identified a strategic opportunity to create a customised data centralisation platform and integrate it into the current digital ecosystem. This way, Grandopet could collect meaningful and useful data and process it in a strategic way: drawing relevant conclusions and supporting hyper-personalised communication. The Pilot period firmly proved that such a system of linked data would not only help fill the brand's data gaps but could also be the next critical milestone in Grandopet's digital growth strategy.

Playing ruff with numbers

The guide to brand awareness growth

The formula used in carrying out the digital marketing campaign was based on a proven recipe: collecting and analysing customer data (to understand customer needs) and building marketing decisions and sales activities on them (to reach the target audience). Serving the market with tailored attention, we’ve ensured that when our key audience is browsing the web for pet supplies, they see a relevant ad from Grandopet.

But let the numbers speak instead. Yes, we counted the ads. Fur real. Because we count everything, and everything counts.

• 1431 digital ads
• 364 digital banners
• 8 targeted digital channels
• 3 videos
• more than 100 digital ad campaigns

Here are four primary metrics that show the results we reached with our digital marketing campaigns at the end of the Pilot compared to the state before the Pilot’s launch.

• Visitor numbers on the website grew 3 times
• Session numbers on the website grew 3,3 times
• Transactions (placed purchase orders) on the website grew 3,5 times
• Revenue grew 5 times

The pets factor

Powerful bonding with the audience through visual content marketing

The pet-centred project opened the way for unleashing our creativity. The emotional tonality was a given, and there was no need to dig too deep. But our challenge was to find the most accurate way to truly resonate with Grandopet’s audience through the ‘cute and funny’.

It soon became clear to us, and therefore we advised that a brand video was very timely and much needed to bring out the brand's core values. Seizing the opportunity of a great way to introduce the brand to new audiences, we embarked on an adventurous brand video production. The concept of making our in-house Schnauzer the star of the video only amplified the excitement of our production team.

Recognition from viewers soon followed as the video reached a view count of half a million in just a few months on YouTube and 128,000 on Tiktok. Isn’t that something for a first? If you’re up for some sweetness, check out the video below.

Creating the digital banners was also a rewarding process. When it came to creating flawless copy in the context of adorable pets, the team knew no boundaries. Brainstorming marathons were longed for, and so many great ideas were born that they barely fit the whiteboard. Our graphic design team’s concept topped the process: they made them stand out in the cluttered digital space, and captured the right attention to drive conversions.

Tail-wagging means yes for a digital-first transition

Long-term solutions always outweigh the short-term successes. It’s very much like the 15-minute fame. It is never about those exact 15 minutes, but what happens next is crucial.

During our cooperation with Grandopet, we have established a new approach for Grandopet’s brand awareness growth. Beyond overachieving the initial KPI, we managed to turn the tide on a larger scale.

First, we widened the perspective of the client’s team and played a major role in changing their mindsets about the importance of interpreting data. We have opened the doors and enabled them to make business decisions based on a clear digital strategy: what we want to achieve and how to create value by using the data at our disposal.

And second, by devising a digital growth model, we’ve handed a 5-year strategic vision for a 25X business growth, for international expansion, and for becoming a digital-first company.

The strategy we’ve set up focused on key aspects such as strategic goals, digital marketing strategies, digital campaign plan, and digital marketing budget plan, and depicted three different scenarios for year over year revenue growth.