Best Brand Copy at Global Pet Expo 2024
As a copywriter heavily ensconced in the pet industry, I look forward to brand copy at Global Pet Expo every year. Each year, thousands of pet professionals converge to the show floor at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
The Global Pet Expo is an annual trade show and conference dedicated to the pet industry. It is one of the most significant events of its kind, bringing together pet product manufacturers, suppliers, buyers, and industry professionals worldwide. The expo showcases the latest trends, innovations, and products in the pet care market.
While the expo is a visual feast of inventive designs and pet-friendly gadgets, one aspect that truly sets brands apart is their copywriting. Clever, engaging, and persuasive copy can make all the difference in capturing attention and driving sales. Let’s dive into some of the standout brand copywriting at the Global Pet Expo 2024.
What Makes For The Best Brand Copy at Global Pet Expo
Brand copywriting is an art—an art of communicating your brand’s personality and messaging effectively enough to differentiate yourself from competitors, but also enticing and engaging enough to serve as your brand’s voice.
Effective brand copywriting communicates what a brand offers and what it stands for. Creating a strong emotional connection with the target audience differentiates one brand from another, especially on a crowded expo floor of thousands.
Brand copywriting is the convergence of storytelling and story selling – the intersection where brand identity lingers in the mind of the audience, long after passing by the signage, booth, or displays.
The best brand copy at Global Pet Expo exceeds the following criteria to make our list:
- Creative: Unique and innovative approach
- Engaging: Emotional appeal (humor? off the beaten path? Serious?)
- Clarity: Is it clear and concise
- Brand consistency: Is it on point with the rest of the brand’s tone, values, and messaging?
- UVP: Clear unique value proposition (UVP) that clearly stands out
- Audience-Centric approach: Showing the brand deeply and clearly understands their audience’s pain points and desires.
- Benefit-Oriented Messaging: Features are facts, which are great. How is the copy solving problems or enhancing a pet parent’s life?
- Visual Harmony: Do the designs and graphics present in harmony with the copy?
We looked at signage and product/packaging messaging in our copy assessment.
Best Brand Copy Winners at Global Pet Expo 2024
Zymox Ear Wipes
What It Is: Ear wipes for dogs and cats that contain no antibiotics or harsh ingredients, thanks to the ZYMOX LP3 enzyme system.
Why We Love the Copy: This signage is memorable and hits a home run with the dog ear flipped up next to the product benefits. We appreciate that ZYMOX shared the benefits, not just the facts, so that anyone walking by knows what the product is designed to do.
Pet Releaf
What It Is: One of the leaders in the pet CBD space, Pet Releaf promotes plant-powered pet health in its line of products.
Why We Love the Copy: We are immediately drawn to the shades of green, but the ‘plant-powered pet health’ tagline is intriguing. Their branding is simple, which means consumers can focus on the product. Their new line of products are on brand with the rest of their line.
Pet-Pourri
What It Is: From the makers of Poo-Pourri comes Pet-Pourri (love the name), which freshens odors and leaves your home smelling nice with two to four spritzes.
Why We Love the Copy: The color palate is fresh, the tagline is memorable (Pet Odor Can Be Ruff), and we love that the copy tells you exactly what the product does – “Eliminate 99% of pet odor in your home.” This is simple, memorable, and folks passing by will know what the product is and does with some great puns, too.
Woof Island
What It Is: All-natural treats for dogs infused with real coconut from Woof Island.
Why We Love the Copy: Woof Island is a showstopper title. As a pet parent, I immediately want to know more. Their packaging is divine and gives off an island feel. Sometimes less is more, and the use of tropical colors, a real split open coconut, and transparent packaging make for a home run.
Skout’s Honor
What It Is: Skouts Honor offers products for cleaning, grooming, wellness, training, and more.
Why We Love The Copy: The pre-show copy Skout’s Honor shared to LinkedIn stopped us in our tracks. Edgy, fun, and shareable are all elements of a memorable campaign, and Skout’s Honor nailed it. As attendees walked the show floor, they were summoned to “Find Love @ Booth 2809,” where they would find Skout’s Honor. The hysterical messaging made me want to learn more. Well done!
Mella
What It Is: The ‘world’s first underarm thermometer for dogs and cats,’ from Mella recently scored a deal with Mark Cuban on Shark Tank.
Why We Love the Copy: If all you do is walk by and see a sign that says, “Saving Pets One Butt at a Time,” you will smile and/or be intrigued. A dog depicted as a super hero in the cartoon-like signage is completely on point.
Pride + Groom
What It Is: Dog and cat grooming products but targeted for specific coat types. Pride + Groom happens to be one of my favorite pet products on the planet. They are free of GMOs, parabens, dyes, and sulfates.
Why We Love the Copy: The packaging lures the consumer in. The easy-to-dispense point-tip nozzle stands out but so does their labeling. From the Shedder to the Non-Shedder to the Sensitive One, the packaging is clean and has a luxurious feel. Bonus for the person copy person who has “Gee this page smells terrific” running across the crawl on the Pride + Groom homepage.
Kong
What It Is: This Colorado-based Kong brand produces dog and cat toys and treats. Most pet parents know them for their mentally stimulating treat-dispensing toys for dogs.
Why We Love the Copy: Whether you just learned about Kong at the Global Pet Expo or are familiar with the brand, their bold and straightforward copy says it all. Paired with a Kong toy, Ruggedly Durable – Endlessly Playable speaks volumes next to their original Kong dog toy.
Jiminy’s
What It Is: Jiminy’s is a progressive pet food brand made with insect protein (yes, crickets) that is touted as nutritious and sustainable.
Why We Love the Copy: The name makes us weak in the knees in a really good way. If you have a cricket-based dog food, you’ve got to name it Jiminy’s as in Jiminy Crickets! Their nature-based color palate and product titles complete their copy package. From Cravin Cricket to Good Grub, we love this branding.
ChuckIt!
What It Is: ChuckIt! is a brand of dog toys designed for interactive play between dog and pet parent, including ball launchers.
Why We Love the Copy: How can you not stop in your tracks coming upon this booth? Not only is it vibrant and joyful, but you know what the brand does on first glance. Additionally, we love “Make Fetch Happen, anytime – anywhere – anyway.”
NaturVet
What It Is: NaturVet has been manufacturing pet supplements for over 25 years. At Global, they introduced their breed-specific soft chews for simplified support.
Why We Love the Copy: Focusing on the type of breed/dog each chew targets is smart. Pet parents are discriminating, and rightfully so. No longer does one size or product fit all. The packaging tells a story before reading the copy. You can see the type of dog the chew is designed for. Bonus points for the names of various breeds on the upper part of the packaging.
Marshall Pet
What It Is: Founded in 1993, Marshall Pet sells pet supplies for ferret and rabbits.
Why We Love the Copy: When you have a large product line for smaller animals, it can be hard to stand out. There is no doubt what Marshall Pet does when you see their booth. The signage at the corners of the space captured our attention. We love clever product names, and Ferret-Go-Round and Charlie the Christmas Ferret are brilliant choices.
Brutus Bone Broth
What It Is: Brutus Bone Broth offers high-quality dog food toppers for extra nourishment and picky eaters.
Why We Love the Copy: We love that each piece of copy complements each other. From the “Beyond the Bowl” book to the “Make Every Day Count” brochure, everything Brutus Broth prints is in sync one another.
Glad for Pets
What It Is: From the Glad Products Company, owned by Clorox, has entered the pet space with Glad for Pets. They make training pad, waste management accessories, and more.
Why We Love the Copy: In addition to similar branding of Glad human products, we love the spunk and wordplay of their copy. Namely, to drive people to their people, things like “A Fresh Take on Pet Waste Management” is memorable. Couple that with “What’s the Big Stink” with header social copy and that’s just pure magic.
Fromm Diner
What It Is: A collection of canned dog food from the Fromm brand that contains pates, stews, and shredded entrees.
Why We Love the Copy: The family dinner-inspired graphics coupled with the diner vibe on each can capture the eye. Even cooler, the type of food mirrors that of a human diner, i.e., Betty’s Biscuits and Gravy, Sam’s Steak and Eggs, and Maddie’s Morning Hash.
Lord Jameson
What It Is: Lord Jameson is a luxury brand that sells organic treats for dogs.
Why We Love the Copy: Finally, a pill masker for dogs that isn’t beef, chicken, or smoky flavored. Bold exciting flavors hide the medication taste so says the copy. The packaging is a homerun, too – Cookie Dough, PB & J, and apple pie. We love the statement, “Make medicine taste better!”
The Pet Summit
What It Is: The Pet Summit is a yearly educational marketing and influencer conference that takes place during the Global Pet Expo.
Why We Love the Copy: The pink and white palate with black accents stands out. The Pet Summit’s color palate makes the brand memorable and easily recognizable, which is a bonus. We were scheduled to speak at the Pet Summit, and all speaker signage and branding flowed seamlessly.
Primal
What It Is: Primal is a brand of dog food that manufactures raw and gently prepared food and treats for dogs and cats.
Why We Love the Copy: The pet food market is a flooded one, so standing out is crucial. Because some pet parents may not be 100 percent on board with feeding raw, we love Primal’s statement: “Serve like kibble, nourish like raw.” The image of kibble-sized bites drives home the notion that the food is easy to serve.
Global Pet Expo Highlights
Click below to see a recap of the 2023 Global Pet Expo. Did you attend? Did you have a favorite booth, product, or piece of copy?
We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the signage and layout for the actual Global Pet Expo. It was epic, as you can see in this image:
