As you may have heard recently, Grumpy Cat, the lovable and unhappiest cat to ever grace a meme, passed away earlier this month. When the news broke, I quickly noticed that not only was I a little bummed, but that co-workers, friends, and family were also feeling down about the famous feline’s crossing over the rainbow bridge.
If you are on Instagram, you have likely noticed that Grumpy Cat is not the only famous pet on social media. Jiffpom anyone? From Lil Bub to Nala Cat, there are endless profiles featuring a zoo of animals. Influencer marketing, said to be worth up to $10 billion, has an entire branch dedicated to pet influencers, and businesses continue to invest more in this sector.
Intrigued, I did a little digging into some of the most notable deals inked by our furry friends. Top animal influencers have been tapped to work with impressive brands. Loki the Wolfdog worked with Mercedes-Benz to promote the 2017 GLS SUV, as well as Google and GoPro. Jiffpom is quite the big deal in a small package having worked with Target and Nature’s Recipe.
Grumpy Cat created a commotion when she first appeared at SXSW in 2013 in connection with her Friskies deal. Fans waited in line for over three hours to take a photo with her. An estimate conducted by AdAge revealed that Grumpy Cat made over $100 million from her deals including a movie, sponsorships, and merchandise. Grumpy Cat paved the way for pet celebrities. The boom in animal influencers has even spawned talent agencies dedicated to representing these furry animals.
So why are pet influencers so popular? In some instances, they even have a bigger following than *yawn* human social media influencers. A quick comparison revealed that Nala Cat has 4 million followers, while Ashton Kutcher has a mere 3.3 million followers. Another look shows Doug the Pug with 3.8 loyal followers, minimizing Tori Spelling’s 1.3 million followers.
Check out the list below for some of social media’s most popular animal influencers:
- Grumpy Cat – 2.4 million followers
- Loki the Wolfdog – 2 million followers
- Nala Cat – 4 million followers
- Doug the Pug – 3.8 million followers
- Mr. Pokee – 1.4 million followers
- Pumpkin the Raccoon – 1.4 million followers
- Jiffpom – 9 million followers
- Lil Bub – 2.2 million followers
- Venus Two Face Cat – 1.4 million followers
- Tuna Melts My Heart – 2 million followers
The first reason why animal influencers are a good choice for business is simple, animals are not as risky as celebrities. This is actually a great advantage for brands. Working in corporate law, I can share that talent and vendor agreements can include language around behavior concerning the way an individual represents a company during the term of the agreement. In short, a company does not have to worry about a pet getting intoxicated or making bad decisions.
Second, consumers are three times more likely to buy a product endorsed by a pet influencer than a celebrity influencer.
Third, just as animals are known for their loyalty, charm and appeal, they possess traits that brands want to be associated with. A company can match up with a pet influencer that represents the same characteristics in line with the brand’s image. If a brand wants to convey strength, how about a Clydesdale à la Budweiser? Perhaps a brand wants to convey loyalty and love, insert basically any fluffy pet influencer here. Some brands may also want to support a charitable cause. Lil Bub, a special needs cat, has worked with the ASPCA to raise over $400,000 for animals in need.
Finally, during a time when there is so much division and negativity on social media, pet influencers make people feel happy. So the question I leave you with is…who is your favorite pet influencer and why?
References
25 top pet influencers. (2018, April 16). Retrieved from https://izea.com/2018/04/16/top-pet-influencers/
ASPCA. (2019). Retrieved from https://secure.aspca.org/donate/lilbub
Berkowitz, D. (2013, March 13). What Grumpy Cat taught me about what really drives SXSW. Ad Age. Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/digitalnext/grumpy-cat-taught-drives-sxsw/240320
Brookhart, T. (2016, December 20). How Loki the Wolfdog became an Instagram star. Outside. Retrieved from https://www.outsideonline.com/2143756/how-loki-wolfdog-became-instagram-star
Liffreing, I. (2019, May 17). Remembering Grumpy Cat’s prolific advertising career – from Friskies to Grumppuccino. Ad Age. Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/digital/remembering-grumpy-cats-prolific-advertising-career-friskies-grumppuccino/2172556
Newman, A. (2017, July 13). This Instagram dog wants to sell you a lint roller. New York Times. Retrived from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/nyregion/instagram-dogs.html
Rabimov, S. (2018, July 28). Instagram zoo: The rise and rise of Instagram pet influencers. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/stephanrabimov/2018/07/28/instagram-zoo-the-rise-and-rise-of-pet-influencers/#1d05c39e1921
Schmidt, M. (2019, February 13). Calculating the true size of the influencer marketing industry. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2019/02/13/calculating-the-true-size-of-the-influencer-marketing-industry/#5d821829658d
Success with pet influencer marketing. (2019, March 6). Retrieved from http://www.petage.com/success-with-pet-influencer-marketing/
Top 15 Instagram pet influencers whose followings speak for themselves. (2018, November 5). Mediakix. Retrieved from http://mediakix.com/2018/11/top-pet-influencers-instagram-best-popular/#gs.flx125
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