Presented at the American Pets Alive No-Kill Conference 2014.

1. Cat Marketing

2. What We’ll Cover
• Marketing Team & how to recruit
• Photography & Video Tips
• Making Colors More Desirable
• Writing Bios
• Adoption Events
• Where to Market/Advertise

3. The Cat Marketing Team
• Monitors Cat Inventory/Website
• Schedules Blogs
• Coordinates with Event Team
• Coordinates with Cat Adoption Team
Cat Marketing Lead
• Create bios from Foster notes
• “Interview” catsBio Writers
• Visit catteries
• Photograph events
• Photography Day
Photographers
• Post ads on Craigslist for specific cats/eventsCraigslist Posters
• Videographers
• Graphic DesignersOther

4. Recruiting Volunteers
• Volunteer Orientation
• Local Student Groups
• Facebook/Social Media
• Expect Turnover

5. Feline Photography
• Avoid Smartphones
• Lead with a face shot
• Full body shot
– Markings/Coloring
– Manx/Bobtail
– Amputees
• Host Photography Days for fosters
• Use props (ex: bows)
• Natural light for some colors
• Backdrops
• Take a partner
• Take your time!
• Periodic refresh of photos
• Agreements to use photos

6. Tips for Great Videos
• Smartphones OK
• Hold horizontally
• Short 15-30 sec clips doing different things
• Tricks (ex: Fetching)
• Something really compelling to show (ex: Manx
bunny hop, tripod cats walking, etc.)

7. Cat Coloring
• Consider how you label coloring
– Longhair tabby longhair > Main coon
– Solid Grey > Russian Blue
– White & Orange > Turkish Van (specific color patterns)
– Siamese > point, flame, snowshoe, lilac (Google as a
resource)
– Brown > Havana Brown
– Brown tabby with orange > Torbie
– Torties are always unique

8. Tips for Great Bios
• Consistent formatting
• Use the cat’s features to describe them
• Clever/creative
– One-eyed cat is pirate
• Periodic refresh of bios because cats change
over time in adoption centers/foster homes

9. Writing Bios for the
Personality Challenged
• Honest but positive is always best
• Unsocialized/shy
• “Catzillas”
– behavioral - biter, easily overstimulated
• Litter box issues
– sometimes medical
– sometimes behavioral
• Only cats
• Resources for adopters
– Behavior email
– List any medication required
– Reduced adoption fees

10. Examples from previous slide
• Use the next 2-3 slides to show examples of a
personality challenged cat & how the bio was
written, include photos

11. Bio Submissions from Fosters
• Online form
• Emails

12. Marketing for the Elderly/Medical
• Elderly Healthy Cats
– Encourage fosters to promote, FB pages, clever spin on being “old”
• Medical Cats
– Detail what the medical involves, but use terms like “easy to treat”
(Nevada was a good example for his Diabetes eyedrops)
– Interview the foster to see what daily care is really like
– Videos (use Mattie as an example)
– Consider reduced fees
• Ringworm
– Super easy to treat
– Athlete's Foot
– APA treatment
– Reduced fees

13. Angel, 17 year old Blue Tabby
Angel anxiously awaits her turn at the penny slots.

14. Nevada
Nevada has a form of diabetes that does not require injectable insulin
therapy. It is called Diabetes Insipidus, which means that his body
cannot store and recycle water. All he needs are eye drops twice a
day, which are very easy to administer, and constant access to a large
bowl of water. Nevada is also allergic to fleas and needs a simple
monthly flea treatment. That's a small favor for such a special boy!

15. Mattie
• Video link

16. Ringworm cat example

17. Adoption Events
• Work with PR Team to get sponsors
– Back in Black
• Create Compelling Flyers
• Create Videos to Promote
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ljioGn2_7s
• Themes:
– Back in Black
– Single & Loving It
• Post on the website/blog/FB pages
• Not every event has to be original, look at what other
shelters do

18. Where to Advertise Your Cats
• Rescue Website
• Facebook Page(s)
– Multiple page will need managed posts,
consistency
• Instagram
• Culturemap
– Work with community/PR to identify online
publications