LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--HelloSociety, the leading marketing and analytics agency that connects marquee brands with the world’s most influential and engaging social creators for strategic campaigns it guides from start to finish, today announced the launch of WAGSociety, its new division that represents influential pets on social. HelloSociety is the first and only experienced agency in the industry to expand its services to the fast-growing pets market.
WAGSociety’s roster of animal ambassadors is composed of an eclectic mix of species, including dogs, cats, hedgehogs, pigs, and more. At launch, it represents some of the biggest pets on social, including Mensweardog, Cobythecat, Geordi La Corgi, Priscilla and Poppleton, Esther the Wonder Pig, and macchacat.
In addition to brand marketing, WAGSociety will also be used as an avenue to support animal welfare. Five percent of each campaign completed through WAGSociety will be donated to the company’s charity partner, Best Friends Animal Society, the only national animal welfare organization focused exclusively on ending the killing of animals in shelters around the country. WAGSociety’s team will participate in volunteer work at adoption events, promote the organization on social channels, and connect its network of influencers to help increase awareness for and engagement with their cause.
"A heightened emotional response is the number one thing that encourages sharing online, and research shows that we’re biologically hardwired to respond to things that are cute,” said Kyla Brennan, founder & CEO of HelloSociety. “So, it’s no surprise that we consistently see even higher audience engagement with content from our animal Influencers than we do from their human counterparts. I’m excited for brands to have a whole new network of Influencers to draw from that can share their messaging in a cute and compelling way. As an office of serious animal lovers, me and my team are especially excited to donate a portion of our proceeds with Best Friends to support the amazing work they’re doing to help pets."
“Ever since T Brand Studio was introduced to HelloSociety it has been puppy love,” says Sebastian Tomich, SVP Advertising & Innovation at The New York Times. “In this ever fragmented media landscape, brands need a louder bark to break through. With this innovation we see an opportunity to mark our territory in a new influencer space.”
Pet owners are a massive audience and tend to be part of the younger demographic brands are looking to attract. More than half of all households in the U.S. have a pet, and roughly 65% of millennials and 71% of Gen Xers are pet owners. Nearly 40% of the top 10 ads shared in 2015 featured an animal of some sort, signifying they are becoming a major asset for brand messaging. WAGSociety will work with brands of all kinds and give HelloSociety access to the pets industry, which will generate about $62B in spend this year, according to the American Pet Products Association.
“We’re thrilled to partner with WAGSociety to bolster our work to Save Them All,” said Eric Rayvid at Best Friends Animal Society. “Nearly 4 million pets are killed in shelters every year simply because they do not have a place to call home. We’re excited to work closely with the WAGSociety team and the social creators in its community to save pets across the U.S.”
This news comes on the heels of the recent acquisition by The New York Times. HelloSociety is the only influencer community to work with both people and pets and the only one to have a charity element built into its business. Its customers include brands such as Procter & Gamble, Sony, Nordstrom, Sephora, Tiffany & Co., and more.
About HelloSociety
Launched in 2012, HelloSociety is the leading marketing and analytics agency that connects the world’s most influential social creators with marquee brands for strategic campaigns that it guides from start to finish. It offers strategic campaign recommendations, brand-creator matchmaking, in-house content creation, paid media management, event coordination and real-time proprietary analytics. HelloSociety works with the 1,500 most influential and engaging social creators on every visual social network including Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Pinterest, Vine, Facebook Live and YouTube. Customers span a wide range of verticals including fashion, home decor, fitness, food, travel, and more and include brands such as Procter & Gamble, Sony, Nordstrom, Sephora, Tiffany & Co., and more. It’s headquartered in Santa Monica and owned by the New York Times.
About Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society is the only national animal welfare organization dedicated exclusively to ending the killing of dogs and cats in America's shelters. A leader in the no-kill movement, Best Friends runs the nation's largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals, adoption centers and spay and neuter facilities in Los Angeles and Salt Lake City as well as lifesaving programs in partnership with more than 1,400 rescue groups and shelters across the country. Since its founding in 1984, Best Friends has helped reduce the number of animals killed in American shelters from 17 million per year to an estimated 4 million. By continuing to build effective initiatives that reduce the number of animals entering shelters and increase the number who find homes, Best Friends and its nationwide network of members and partners are working to Save Them All®.
To become a fan of Best Friends Animal Society on Facebook go to: http://www.facebook.com/bestfriendsanimalsociety
Follow Best Friends on Twitter: http://twitter.com/bestfriends
