animal health:

Leveraging Brand Drivers

The animal health and nutrition industry is experiencing a time of upheaval. The number of products is proliferating. Many pioneering products are going off patent, and generic activity is high. Further consolidation of companies requires critical evaluation of product portfolios to avoid cannibalization, ensure distinctive positioning and properly allocate resources.

Channel lines are also blurring. Product lines that use to be exclusive to the veterinarian channel are now available on the Internet or at the large pet specialty stores. Farm stores, feed dealerships and even the mass merchandise channels are aggressively competing for the animal owner.

Passionate about their animals, customers have a constant hunger for information. Use of the Internet, and specifically social media, is rapidly advancing word-of-mouth marketing and is certainly influencing channel and brand choice. Knowing the impact of the different touch-points is key to relevancy and response.

Pet care continues to become more humanized, with rapidly expanding treatment categories and care options such as pet insurance. Environmental regulations, global restrictions, labor availability and the aging of its producers are also challenging the industry. Even the role of the veterinarian is changing as the older male generation retires and more and more women enter the profession.

It is crucial for customers to be involved in the decision process. To succeed, companies must continue to innovate, developing new technologies and products to protect their brands’ positions and offset the generic onslaught. Segmentation of the market for product development targeting is key, as is the importance of understanding customers’ emotional motivations, how to acquire new customers and how to retain loyal customers.