Ever since Woody and Buzz first graced the Silver Screen, animated movies targeting not just children but viewers of all ages have dominated Hollywood. In 2016, the Secret Life of Pets used animation to show us how our furry and four-legged loved ones live their lives when us humans aren’t around. The blockbuster, which grossed more then $360 million in just the US, had a large production and traditional marketing budget, but a small budget for less-traditional, guerilla-style marketing tactics. How could we use non-traditional PR and marketing to earn media for a massive motion picture used to relying on paid media? 

We knew that to reach the right audience, we had to engage the right messengers. We started with key influencers whose opinions would be trusted by moviegoers interested in both the animated genre and fun-loving films, including pet, parent, family, and lifestyle bloggers. Second, we knew that we could meet pet lovers and pet-friendly audiences exactly where they were: pet stores. At Pet Smart stores across America, we featured Secret Life of Pets Milk-Bone and Pup-eroni dog treat packaging in high trafficked areas. Lastly, we unleashed (pun slightly intended) the tremendous power of social media by encouraging users to share photos of their very own pet’s secret lives. 

By leveraging trusted influencers, messaging to pet owners and pet-friendly audiences where they were, and encouraging interactive social media use, we were able to generate significant buzz for a major motion picture without television ads or major promotional spends. Despite not engaging in more traditional movie promotion methods, we were able to generate more than 100 million impressions from individuals highly likely to see the movie, and we increased brand affinity for our partner brands by 3x the amount they enjoyed prior to the Secret Life of Pets campaign.