Wagster Dog Treats
Developing a go-to-market strategy to reach growth targets
Competitive Analysis - Industry Analogs - Focus Groups - Brand Positioning - Design Thinking - Ideation Workshop - Go-to-Market Strategy
Challenge
As one of Homeward Bound of Marin’s social enterprises, Wagster Dog Treats was committed to its mission of providing job-training and support for those coming out of homelessness. Since inception, Wagster grew opportunistically, gaining distribution in pet specialty retailer Pet Food Express, as well as Whole Foods Northern California. However, the Co-CEOs knew they could do even more and asked us for help in developing a 3-year marketing plan.
Approach
We first conducted an analysis of the value proposition and messaging of several dog treat brands, distilling that information into a competitive map that highlighted the opportunity for Wagster Dog Treats. We also reviewed the communication strategies of other social enterprises, and took inspiration from them to develop two brand positioning options for Wagster.
We then conducted focus groups to gather customer feedback on Wagster, the positioning options, and their tagline - Life Changing Dog Treats. With the information gathered, we proposed a new tagline for Wagster that distilled the essence of the winning brand positioning “Wholesome Goodness.”
The last step was leading an ideation workshop for the team to develop a go-to-market strategy for the next three years, prioritizing tactics that were considered “low-hanging fruit” to garner momentum for larger marketing projects.
Result
Upon completion of this multi-phase project, the Co-CEOs and their team had a solid foundation upon which to anchor their marketing efforts and had a roadmap to follow to ensure continued growth and success.
