AKC Canine Good Citizen

Media Cause is a digital marketing agency with a mission: to scale the impact of organizations doing good.

To inspire people to recognize and address these common, but not so desirable habits in their doggos—and position CGC training as a great way to solve them—we knew it would be key to avoid any kind of finger-pointing. Instead, we set out to enlighten and entertain our dog-owning audience, using humor to connect on a personal, relatable level. Of course, if you think about it, some of the things our dogs do ARE pretty funny. Sniffing crotches? Licking faces? We'd never let a human friend get away with those antics...so why should we let our dogs? We reasoned that by flipping the script, and putting people into ridiculous dog situations, the hilarity of it all would help hit the point home.

Stories that show, not shame

The American Kennel Club (AKC) offers a training program to all dogs, mixed breed and purebred, called Canine Good Citizen (CGC). Despite the program being offered at chain pet stores like Petco and PetSmart nationwide, they were struggling to raise awareness and recruit new owners to enroll their dogs in the program.

Challenge

As we were looking to recruit new dog owners to take part in the CGC program, one thing became very clear. Dog owners unconditionally love their dogs, just like their pups love them. But it's often the kind of love that’s a little bit blind to the not so good parts of the relationship, or the dog's seemingly excusable, “oh that’s just how she is” habits.

How could we get everyday dog owners to realize their best friends could be even better, without sounding judgmental—especially coming from an organization that's as formal, and often thought of as "unrelatable," as the AKC?

Because a well-trained dog is an even better best friend.

A CGC User's Journey

We targeted dog owners and lovers on social, specifically Facebook and Instagram, since of course, dog people share dog photos on social ALL the time. We used stories, carousels and single image newsfeed posts to cover the most amount of ground. These posts drove users to the newly redesigned CGC section of the AKC website. We used retargeted banner ads to follow up with those who clicked through to the website, just to keep CGC top of mind.

While visitors were on the AKC site, they could find a CGC trainer in their area, learn more about the program's benefits, and see what other AKC programs and sports are available once they earn their CGC training.

We also included an email capture on the site to nurture potential participants with a targeted email series that delivered custom content, depending on where they were in their CGC training journey. If they were just starting out, we provided compelling reasons to join the program. If they were already in the program, we delivered tips and resources to help them pass the test, and encourage them to keep going with everything AKC has to offer.

Social Single Image Ads

Going Beyond

As we explored the offerings of the Canine Good Citizen program, we became aware that the logo AKC was using was going to clash with any of our modern creative. The logo originated with the program, nearly 30 years ago.

Our new aesthetic was clean and modern, making it difficult to seamlessly incorporate a dated element. We took into account that CGC was something a dog owner earns, so we brought in the look and feel of a badge that took inspiration from the rosettes AKC is famous for.

Website

Email Template

Social Stories

Digital Banners