Social media was meant to be a fun place to visit. These days, the world being what it is right now, social media is often bleak. Long term partners, Pedigree and Colenso BBDO Auckland are changing the face of social media for dog lovers. They’ve launched a social media platform for dogs to overcome everything that’s bad about social media and bring the good back to newsfeeds.

The new platform, Pedigree DentaStix Studios builds on the success of Pedigree SelfieSTIX. It helps owners to capture unique content of their dogs and share it on their own social media accounts through three tools, with each tool encouraging users to purchase more Pedigree DentaStix treats within the app environment.

GoodLens gives owners a glimpse into the world their dog sees, by transforming a Pedigree DentaStix treat into an array of magical objects. The feature enters completely uncharted territory from a technological standpoint, using object detection to identify and track a DentaStix treat. It can then predict the position of the DentaStix treat and map a 3D object to the dog treat. Owners can then film their dog having fun with things like a magic wand, a bunch of flowers or an electric guitar.

DogDays helps owners track the lives of their dog and watch their dog grow. Using the Pedigree SelfieSTIX clip, owners take a daily photo of their dog which the app transforms into a shareable film of their dog’s life. Imagery taken using this tool becomes part of a database for Waltham Institute, to help further research on health cues that can be discovered by a dog’s appearance.

PupBooth builds upon the SelfieSTIX app, so people can add fun 3D filters to their dogs’ faces and share these images.

A special algorithm will track the app’s success in putting more good back into social media, by identifying sentiment across a variety of platforms, as more and more dog images are fed into them by app users.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0vhIr645sI

Kimberley Ragan, Colenso BBDO creative director, commented, “If we learned anything from SelfieSTIX, it’s that creating content and posting images of dogs, makes people feel good. And given the state of the world and how it’s reflected in social media, it seems we could all do with a little more goodness right now. DentaStix Studios gives everyday dog owners a way to populate social media with more happiness, more fun, more genuine joy – via the goodness of dogs. It’s an extension of the Pedigree universe that we’re excited to share with owners and their dogs.” 

Dave Griffin, Pedigree Global Brand Director, added, “Pedigree DentaStix is all about meaningful moments with your dog that deliver a specific benefit of great oral care – what we needed was a way to engage pet parents in more of these moments – ultimately building an oral care routine for their dog in the process. With DentaStix Studios we now have an amazing platform to do exactly that – it brings you and your dog together in a fun and creative way through intuitive and easy to share digital tech – and the direct link to online and offline purchase is all about landing more oral care for more dogs along the wa.y” 

Pedigree DentaStix Studios is being given a staggered global launch, arriving first in the USA in partnership with BBDO New York, and then New Zealand at the end of June 2019. The app is supported by an campaign that includes film, social, digital media and POS.

Credits

Agency: Colenso BBDO

Production Company: Assembly

Media Agency: Wavemaker

Music search, licensing & sound design: Franklin Road Music & Sound

Client: Mars

Global Brand Director, Pedigree: Dave Griffin

Marketing Manager Pet, Mars New Zealand: Cormac Van Den Hoofdakker

Assistant Brand Manager – Pet Care and Treats, Mars New Zealand: Alice Green