P&G Relaunches Eukanuba

Procter & Gamble’s Iams Co. is relaunching Eukanuba premium dog food with a yearlong promotion and advertising campaign under the theme “Feed the Breed.”

The campaign centers on the nutritional needs of different breeds and sizes to tout two new products, Eukanuba Breed Specific and Custom Care formulas, as well as Eukanuba’s existing Breed Size and Premium Performance product lines. The high-end brand sells only in pet specialty stores.

“Consumers shop pet specialty stores to get a higher plane of nutrition for their breeds and now Eukanuba offers dog owners the greatest level of customized, canine nutrition,” said Eukanuba Marketing Director Andrew Meurer in a statement.

Print ads in consumer magazines use photos by animal photographer Tim Flach to showcase individual breeds’ attributes, such as a Shar-Pei’s skin folds and a Rhodesian Ridgeback’s swirled coat. Weiden + Kennedy, Portland, OR, handles the consumer campaign, supported by ads targeting breeders via Northlich, Cincinnati.

Iams will send “nutrition consultants” into stores to tell shoppers about the brand. Displays and promos will use photos from the print ads. The Integer Group, Denver, handles the in-store push.

Meanwhile, an online contest, Beauty of the Breeds, lets consumers enter their dog in one of six categories (based on the dog’s size, and whether the entry is a photo or video). Each month through January, judges pick one winner in each category; in February, P&G will post the four monthly winners in each segment (24 overall) at BeautyoftheBreeds.com for consumers to vote. The top vote-getter in each segment wins a year’s supply of Eukanuba and the chance to be in a Eukanuba ad. Fleishman-Hillard, Internet agency IMC2, Dallas, and D.L. Blair handle the contest, which broke Oct. 9

The site also hosts a survey to choose the 15 most beautiful breeds; those top breeds will be showcased in the May/June 2007 issue of The Hollywood Dog Magazine and the June/July issue of The New York Dog Magazine.

Cincinnati-based Iams will roll out additional promotion and p.r. support throughout the year.

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