Make your 2022 events high impact with an animal star
When you think of Easter, you might think of bunnies and ducks. At Christmas, reindeer, and polar bears. Animals have a unique ability to capture the emotions and tone of a particular season or annual event. Even if certain animals aren’t closely associated with a particular holiday, they can help to capture an audience’s feelings and attention.
To help you find the perfect pet star for your marketing campaigns in 2022, we’ve put together our recommendations for each seasonal event.
New Year events
New Year is about new beginnings, which makes it the best time to kickstart any marketing or promotion activity. Whether it’s setting resolutions, finding new energies or discovering new horizons, New Year marketing should be full of optimism and joy.
Whether you’re looking for a brand refresh or to promote new products or services, the New Year is a great opportunity to breathe some life into your marketing and what better way to do it than with some puppies and kittens! Cute, fluffy and full of life, they epitomise new beginnings and are sure to give your audience the joy they’re looking for to brush away the winter blues.
Valentines events
Every 14th of February is an opportunity to show your audience some love. A season of pinks, reds, love hearts and roses, Valentine’s marketing is all about making your audience feel warm and fuzzy inside. Alternatively, you might want to add a touch of fun or disrupt the traditional look by promoting Palentines or Galentines.
The love between people and their pets is a long-standing topic of big brands for Valentine’s marketing campaigns. A good example of this was when Sainsbury’s put a clever twist on this subject in their Valentine’s mix up advert, where the combination of a talented dog actor and the green-eyed monster put a funny and heartwarming storyline twist on the usual date night scene.
In short, animal actors and models are a great way to add some fun to your Valentine’s marketing, and will capture the hearts of your audience – which in turn captures they’re attention to your brand.
Our star suggestions for Valentines:
With her beautiful, dreamy look, Jasmine the Bengal cat will capture any romantic’s attention. Alternatively, Betty the Maltese Yorkshire Terrier Cross is small, cutesy and full of character, making her a great option for a modern Love-Island style Valentine’s campaign.
Mothers Day events
One of the first springtime celebrations, Mother’s Day is full of warmth and caring. Soft colours, charm and family-friendly photography are all hallmarks of traditional Mother’s Day marketing, while alternative campaigns celebrate the funnier side of maternal relationships or express gratitude to important mother figures.
Our star suggestions for Mothers Day:
With an adorable face that mothers will love, Rupert the Cavapoo is a friendly, handsome fellow who is sure to elevate your marketing or promotional campaign. Alternatively, hedgehogs are cute bundles of fun that encapsulate the feeling of springtime perfectly – and using a hedgehog for your campaign will certainly stand you out from the crowd (everyone loves a hedgehog).
Easter events
Almost as full of puns as it is of eggs, chocolate and bright, beautiful colours, Easter is a great opportunity to have some fun with your marketing. Although bunnies are the most obvious animal choice for this annual event, many brands have put their own spin on this classic look.
Aldi adopted the approach of unexpected with their cute and creative advert promoting their lower price points to customer in an engaging – funny – way.
Our star suggestions for Easter:
If you do decide that rabbits are a must-have for your campaign, bunnies like Huey, Dewy and Louie are sure to add some hop-iness and fun to your marketing, as would any rabbit actor, model or influencer. Or, for an alternative Easter look, why not choose a pet star that’s equally as cute and cuddly, like Badger, a Chihuahua Dachshund cross who is sure to get the attention of your customer.
Spring Bank Holiday events
The first long weekend of the year offers audiences lots of time to relax and enjoy spending quality time with their friends and family – the perfect time to get their attention with your marketing! Plus, with no specific animals linked to Spring Bank Holidays, this annual event lends itself to an alternative and highly creative approach to your marketing campaign.
Our star suggestions for Spring Bank Holiday:
Why choose a racoon? Well, why not? Although they might not be spotted in every country in the spring, they sure are full of the joys of it. With lots of energy and a quirky look, they’re an alternative way to capture your audience’s attention. Or, if you want to stun people with a shock of colour, then why not choose a peacock? Graceful, majestic and stylish, they’re perfect choices for high-quality or fashion brands.
The Queen’s Birthday events
A quintessentially British celebration, the Queen’s birthday in early summer is a great time to capture the charm and regal elements of your brand. Whether you have high-quality products or aim to make your customers feel like royals with your service, this event is the perfect time to show these qualities.
Our star suggestions for the Queen’s Birthday:
Her Majesty’s love for horses makes the handsome Teake an ideal choice for this event. With a majestic look all of his own, he’ll make a striking star in any marketing campaign. With a similarly regal look, Artemis the Saluki has an elegance and peaceful character that make her a unique model choice for any brand.
Fathers Day events
A celebration of everything dads or father figures do in their lives, Father’s Day marketing usually balances heartfelt imagery with masculine colours and graphics. This seasonal event, although focused on male figures, is an opportunity to capture the attention of a broad market audience – after all, fathers/dads operate in all industries.
Our star suggestions for Fathers Day:
Known as the ‘Daniel Craig’ of the dog actor world, Whisky’s handsome face and range of lifestyle shoot experience will add a rugged, stylised look to your campaign. Or, if you’re looking for a wise and striking look, Tawny Owls are full of character and can represent your brands professionalism and mastery.
Summer Holidays events
Ice cream, sunshine and plenty of fun outdoors, the six-week summer holidays are all about making the most of time off work and school. Although the weather might not always come as ordered, lifestyle imagery of friends and families enjoying the garden or park combined with bright colours and positive messaging get audiences feeling optimistic at this time of year.
Our star suggestions for Summer Holidays:
For a campaign that celebrates the joy of the outdoors, make sure you choose an animal actor who loves it just as much, like Barney the Fox Red Labrador. A good looking star that compliments the look of the season can also enhance your marketing campaign, visually, like Lilo the Chinchilla Persian cat.
Halloween events
It’s spooky season and time to celebrate everything that’s creepy, crawly or downright disturbing. Whether you go all out with blood and guts or get under their skin with a scary ghost tale, your audience should get a shiver down their spine from your Halloween marketing campaign.
Our star suggestions for Halloween:
Although he has no magical powers, Draco the Boston Terrier-Pug Cross Breed looks like he belongs in the Slytherin house. With a cute-yet-creepy look, he’ll be sure to make your audience break out into an evil giggle. To give your audience some real heebie-jeebies, why not hire a Tarantula to curdle the blood and capture the audiences (fearful) attention.
Bonfire Night events
As audiences start to curl up for the winter season, Bonfire Night gives them an opportunity to cosy up for an indulgent night in or head out to enjoy some fireworks and celebrations. Marketing campaigns often reflect this with stylish outdoor lifestyle imagery, fun sparkling graphics and plenty of warming dark colour tones.
Our star suggestions for Bonfire Night:
For a quirky campaign that’s as energetic as any firework’s display, mixed-breed dog actor Brolis is highly versatile for any acting or modelling promotion. The same colour as autumn leaves, Ashby the Domestic Shorthair cat is perfect for both indoor and outdoor shoots, and brings a touch of class to your campaign.
Christmas events
For many brands, this is the biggest annual event of the year. From holly-jolly reds and greens to heartwarming family-friendly lifestyle imagery, Christmas is also the annual event with the largest creative scope for marketing campaigns.
From reindeer to dogs in jumpers or even turkeys, animal stars are the perfect way to put your brand’s unique stamp on Christmas.
Dogs are for life, not just for Christmas, and so are Microsoft’s products, was the message in their 2020 advert. By exploring the values of embracing imagination, creativity and experiencing freedom through a dog’s eyes, Microsoft created a fun, heartwarming and festive brand promotion.
Our star suggestions for Christmas:
Even if the snow doesn’t arrive on cue, you can give your audiences a white Christmas with gorgeous Annabelle the Ragdoll cat or Daisy the Bichon Frise. With their striking appearance and extrovert natures, they’ll bring the spirit of the season to any promotional campaign.
Make your 2022 seasonal marketing special
Animal actors and models don’t just provide you with a unique and creative way to tell your brand story, they also make a special connection with your audience. As big brands like Andrex and Dulux know so well, animals are fantastic at capturing an audience’s attention, interest and engagement.
However, to make your product or brand promotion as effective as possible, it’s key that you choose a pet star with the right looks, qualities and character – that not only reflect the season, but your brand too. With our eclectic range of highly trained animal actors and models, our expert team of agents can help you to find the best star to be the face of your annual event marketing campaign to make sure you make a big impact!
For more information, call us on 020 8161 6556 or email us at info@urbanpawsagency.com
