By Ann-Marie Alcántara
Bond Vet, a veterinary-care startup with two locations in New
York, tried a virtual meetup last month for people and pets who
couldn't congregate in dog parks during the coronavirus pandemic.
It wasn't the same experience.
"I believe since the dogs actually couldn't interact, it wasn't
as exciting for them," said Brooke Goldstein, a marketing associate
at Bond Vet. "They ran away from the camera and didn't want to look
at the other dogs. It was mostly the humans talking about their
dogs to each other."
Businesses trying to survive while customers and employees
follow stay-at-home orders are learning which physical experiences
translate to the digital world and which don't. Adobe Inc.
converted its annual developers summit into a virtual conference,
Planet Fitness Inc. is streaming at-home workouts, and the National
Basketball League enlisted its players in a videogame tournament on
ESPN.
But going virtual turns out to present particular intricacies
when pets are a key constituency. Animals can't engage with a
screen the same way they would a live event with other pets and
owners.
In some ways, however, it is less tricky than digitizing
experiences that are just for humans, executives said. People under
social isolation are spending a lot more time with their animals
and are willing to try activities online.
"People are more open and looking for things to do during this
time and it's easier to plan doing these virtual events rather than
a whole in-person type of thing," said Ms. Goldstein.
Barkbox Inc., a maker of dog treats and toys, used to host
monthly stand-up comedy events in its offices in New York, Ohio and
Tennessee. Since the novel coronavirus arrived, it has transitioned
that experience to virtual "Squeakeasy" events with themes like
comedy, magic and party tricks for dogs.
"Once all this started, we threw our marketing and social media
handbooks out the window and we have created new ads and content
that we hadn't planned before," said Stacie Grissom, director of
content and communications at Barkbox.
Like many people across the country, dog owners are now likely
to be online much of the time. Ms. Grissom, who's worked on the
social media team since 2012, said jokes about the quarantine and
dogs are resounding with everyone. "Whether you're in Indiana, or
Washington, or in New York City, we're all having a similar
experience living at home with our dogs, " she said.
Petco Animal Supplies Inc.'s Petco-branded stores remain open
across the country but have canceled services such as dog training.
Petco held a remote dog training information session Thursday and
plans to roll out telehealth, virtual dog training and more
services online. Petco is informing customers about the status of
its stores and other services through social media, email and a
dedicated Covid-19 site.
"We're also helping pet parents navigate this new normal with
helpful educational information, resources and unique experiences
designed to strengthen the human-animal bond, including live
Q&As on Instagram with Petco's Head of Veterinary Medicine, Dr.
Whitney Miller, tips on how to keep pets engaged at home, DIY
recipes and activities for pets, and at-home pet grooming and
training tutorials," Petco said in an email.
Like Petco stores, PetSmart Inc.'s PetSmart shops continue to
operate, but without any in-store events like its annual Easter
photo shoot for pets. Instead, PetSmart held an Easter photo
contest using social media, with participants eligible to win a
$100 gift card. Consumers were asked to take photos of their pets
and follow certain guidelines to enter.
Boris and Horton, a New York City dog-friendly cafe that
temporarily closed its doors March 21, has turned some of its
offline events into new online experiences. On March 26, it
transplanted its usual Thursday trivia night to the web as a
benefit for locked-out employees. The event raised more than
$2,000.
For another trivia night, the company teamed up with a nearby
liquor store to deliver themed cocktail kits to remote
participants.
"It's just a great way to engage our community and keep people
sort of involved in what we're doing from a safe distance," said
Logan Mikhly, co-owner of Boris and Horton.
Since its virtual dog park attempt, Bond Vet has tried other
events, with more success. The company, which usually held two to
three in-person events a month before the coronavirus pandemic,
held a dog yoga class with 63 people, hosted an illustrator
teaching owners how to draw their dogs and offered a training class
to teach dogs tricks.
Bond Vet's clinics remain open because New York state considers
emergency veterinary services to be essential health-care
operations, but the company has also seen an increase in customers
using its newly launched telehealth service, which was rolled out
ahead of schedule due to Covid-19. Since March 24, Bond Vet has
conducted 85 visits via telehealth. Bond Vet's telehealth service
was originally slated to launch at the end of the year.
Jess Frost, a dog owner who has attended Bond Vet events in
person and online, said the virtual programs help her feel
connected during social distancing.
"It's an interesting experience because you get very kinda bored
at home and forget what it's like to be all together doing things,"
Ms. Frost said.
Write to Ann-Marie Alcantara at ann-marie.alcantara@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 13, 2020 14:20 ET (18:20 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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