PETFOOD PROMOTION - Mars Petcare Goes on Tour

Mars Petcare is introducing its latest line of restaurant-style dog food meals with a cross-country sampling campaign to be held at dog parks and beaches beginning this month.

• "Share the Love," as the tour is known, promotes the pet food maker's Cesar Canine Cuisine Bistro brand, which provides dogs with not "just a meal, but a dining experience." The entrees, which are sold in food, pet and mass merchandise stores, include varieties like Grilled Chicken Primavera, Tuscan Style Stew with Braised Beef and Oven Roasted Beef Burgundy Flavor. The company said each entree is meant to "evoke . . . the classic bistro" taste.
• Mars Petcare, a division of snack foods maker Mars Inc., which owns brands such as M&M's and Skittles, is sampling the line at more than 125 dog parks and beaches through October. The promotion is meant to tap into consumers' needs to vacation while staying close to home and affording small indulgences for their pets.
• "Cesar Canine Cuisine wants to help small dog parents who want to provide the very best for their little companions," said marketing director Anne Herrington in a statement. "With the 'Share the Love' program, we are happy to provide support with gourmet meals and a restaurant-inspired dining experience for small dogs, while also helping to enrich the relationship between pet owners and their small dogs," she added.
• The tour hits Atlanta, Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia and Phoenix, among other cities. A street team will provide complimentary samples, and staffers from Us Weekly magazine will assist with the treat giveaways on Aug. 27 in Chicago and New York.
• Mars is also offering coupons for free samples online at Cesar.com/bistro. The coupons are available for download each Saturday through Oct. 10.
• The promotion comes as penny-pinched consumers have cut back on discretionary household purchases, but have shown a willingness to spend for pets.

Cesar Canine Cuisine had $4.7 million in 2008 measured media expenditures, excluding online, per Nielsen. Through June of this year, Mars spent $100,000 advertising its pet care brand.

Source: Brandkeek, Eliane Wong