The pet care industry has exploded over the past decade. Pet ownership is at an all-time high, with Gen Z and millennials treating their furry companions more like children than animals. Spending on pet products and services in the U.S. alone topped $140 billion in 2024. In this hyper-competitive, emotionally driven market, digital marketing should be a pet brand’s best friend.
But often, it’s not.
In fact, many digital pet marketing campaigns have tripped over their own paws—squandering customer trust, misunderstanding their audience, and relying on outdated or unethical practices. This op-ed explores the most common (and some spectacular) failures in digital pet marketing, why they happen, and how brands can learn from them before the next campaign goes up in flames—or fizzles out in a feed scroll.
Failure #1: Emotionally Manipulative Marketing
Where it goes wrong:
Pet marketing thrives on emotion. The problem arises when brands mistake manipulation for authenticity. We’ve seen campaigns use grief, illness, and death as attention-grabbing clickbait with little substance behind the cause.
A notorious example was a series of ads run by smaller direct-to-consumer pet food brands, using photos of visibly sick dogs and captions like “You’re killing your pet with kibble.” These ads performed well in the short term—lots of clicks and comments—but ultimately harmed brand credibility. Why? Because they stoked fear without offering real education or empathy.
Many pet owners reported feeling judged or guilt-tripped, with the ads sparking backlash across Reddit and Facebook groups. The conversation shifted from product benefits to marketing ethics, and the brands involved lost both trust and influence.
Lesson:
Emotions in pet marketing must be earned, not exploited. Brands should focus on supporting, not shaming, pet parents. There’s a fine line between concern and coercion—and audiences can tell when you’ve crossed it.
Failure #2: Overuse of AI and Automation Without Empathy
Where it goes wrong:
Automation can be a time-saver in digital marketing, but in pet care—a deeply personal and emotionally sensitive space—it often backfires.
One major pet retailer implemented an AI chatbot for customer service, only to find it recommending toys to grieving pet owners who had just reported a pet death. In another case, automated emails offered discounts on cat food shortly after a customer had updated their profile to reflect the loss of their pet.
These aren’t just data hiccups; they’re brand killers. In moments of vulnerability, people expect empathy, not cold efficiency. Missteps like this leave emotional scars and trigger public backlash. Screenshots go viral, negative reviews multiply, and trust erodes.
Lesson:
Never let convenience override compassion. AI must be monitored and complemented by human oversight, especially when dealing with sensitive life events like pet loss or illness. Brands that get this wrong don’t just lose sales—they lose hearts.
Failure #3: Misaligned Influencer Partnerships
Where it goes wrong:
Pet influencers are big business—but not every collab is a good match. Many brands fall into the trap of prioritizing follower counts over authenticity and alignment.
Take the infamous case of a luxury pet accessory brand that partnered with a controversial beauty influencer known for insensitive remarks and scandal-ridden behavior. While the influencer’s dog was adorable, their audience was not a good match for a brand focused on sustainability and animal welfare. The backlash was swift, with loyal customers accusing the brand of “selling out” and betraying its values.
Then there’s the opposite problem: using dog or cat influencers with no real storytelling or integration. A dry product photo next to a famous pet isn’t enough. Pet parents want to see real-life use, hear about results, and believe the recommendation is genuine.
Lesson:
Influencer marketing in the pet space only works when values align. Brands must do due diligence—not just on follower counts, but on content history, tone, audience demographics, and past brand partnerships.
Failure #4: Content That Tries Too Hard (and Flops)
Where it goes wrong:
Brands desperate to go viral often release quirky or “edgy” campaigns that misunderstand their audience entirely. Humor is tricky in pet marketing. A joke that lands with one demographic can offend another.
One DTC brand tried a “dating app for dogs” gimmick on Instagram, encouraging people to “swipe right” on dog profiles and tag their “dog’s soulmate.” It was meant to be cute, but the tone came off as juvenile and irrelevant. Worse, the campaign included oddly sexualized puns that many found uncomfortable. The posts were deleted within a week due to backlash.
Similarly, several major brands have botched April Fool’s campaigns—like promising AI-powered dog translators or smart litterboxes—only to face customer disappointment when followers believed the innovations were real. Misjudging tone or creating confusion hurts credibility.
Lesson:
Authenticity and relevance matter more than stunts. Humor must be carefully calibrated, and clarity should never be sacrificed for cleverness. Know your audience. Just because it’s “funny in the office” doesn’t mean it will work in the wild.
Failure #5: One-Size-Fits-All Messaging
Where it goes wrong:
Not all pet parents are the same. Yet many digital campaigns treat them as one monolithic group: affluent, suburban, dog-owning, and overwhelmingly white. This lack of nuance alienates huge swaths of the population.
A well-funded pet tech brand launched a digital campaign with exclusively white, heteronormative families using their GPS collars during hikes and picnics. Urban pet owners, single pet parents, LGBTQ+ families, and people of color were nowhere to be seen. While the product had universal appeal, the marketing didn’t. Twitter and TikTok users called it out, leading to an apology and a hastily assembled “inclusive” rebrand that felt reactive rather than sincere.
Lesson:
Representation isn’t a trend—it’s a necessity. Today’s pet parents are diverse in race, age, identity, income, and lifestyle. Brands must speak to that diversity not just in token moments but as a core strategy.
Failure #6: Neglecting Customer Experience Post-Sale
Where it goes wrong:
Some pet brands invest heavily in acquisition but forget the second half of the journey: retention and customer care. A slick Instagram ad means nothing if the product arrives late, is poorly packaged, or if returns are impossible.
Countless DTC pet brands have suffered from poor fulfillment during holiday seasons or pandemic surges. Promising 2-day shipping but delivering in 10, offering “trial guarantees” with hidden return clauses, or ignoring customer emails altogether—these are digital marketing sins that undo months of social media effort in a heartbeat.
And when disappointed customers share their stories online (as they always do), the damage multiplies.
Lesson:
Digital pet marketing isn’t just about acquisition—it’s about the full brand experience. If your backend systems can’t support your front-end promises, you’re building a house on sand. Invest in logistics and customer service before scaling your digital campaigns.
Failure #7: Ignoring Negative Feedback (or Deleting It)
Where it goes wrong:
Some brands panic when faced with public criticism on social media. Rather than responding with transparency or empathy, they delete comments, disable reviews, or respond with canned corporate-speak.
This was the case for a dog food brand that received complaints about dogs getting sick after switching to their new formula. Rather than addressing the issue publicly, the brand quietly deleted negative posts and blocked critical users. The backlash was swift. Reddit threads emerged, watchdog groups investigated, and major media outlets picked up the story.
Trying to cover up criticism is not just unethical—it’s ineffective. In the digital age, transparency isn’t optional. People will talk whether you engage or not. It’s better to be in the conversation than outside of it.
Lesson:
Own your mistakes. Respond to negative reviews. Offer solutions. In many cases, how a brand handles a crisis is more telling than the crisis itself. Pet parents are forgiving—but only if you’re honest.
What These Failures Reveal About Digital Pet Marketing
Each of these failures points to the same central truth: the most successful pet brands are those that treat digital marketing not just as a sales channel, but as an emotional, ethical, and cultural engagement.
Pet ownership is not a transaction—it’s a relationship. And that means marketing to pet parents must be:
- Empathetic: Acknowledge the emotional weight of pet care.
- Human-led: Don’t over-rely on automation or gimmicks.
- Inclusive: Reflect the full spectrum of modern pet owners.
- Responsive: Engage openly, even (especially) when things go wrong.
- Sustainable: Build trust through consistent and thoughtful brand behavior.
Conclusion: More Than Just a Market
The stakes in pet marketing are high—not just financially, but emotionally. Pets are not just consumers in furry form. They are family. And pet parents will defend that family fiercely—especially online.
The brands that win will be the ones that understand that every campaign, every click, every comment, is part of a broader conversation about love, trust, and care. Digital pet marketing isn’t just about going viral. It’s about goingreal—and staying there.
In the rush to dominate the digital pet space, some brands have leapt without looking. But it’s not too late to slow down, rethink the strategy, and lead with empathy. After all, in a world where loyalty is earned in hearts and hashtags alike, every misstep matters—and so does every second chance.
Ronn Torossian founded one of the world’s leading PR agencies.