Knowing the brand wanted to celebrate the silly side of the pet-owner relationship, a new tagline was developed for this product launch, “Feed the Funny,” and positioned Misfits as the catalyst for fun.

The task was to launch Misfits using digital-only channels – to build awareness of the Misfits brand and create buzz-worthy engagement that delivered on the brand promise: the dog treat that invites silly moments of fun.

The goals included: 5% of people who came to the site would create a Dog GIF Party; 15% of those who created a Dog GIF Party would share it out (this projection is still high compared to standard benchmarks of about 5%); and to impact sales during the promotion.

The target was all dog owners, especially those who are less concerned with breed and pedigree and are more enamoured by their dog’s character – their love of socks, ability to whistle while snoring or their passion for sardines.

The popularity of GIFs was at an all-time high (91 million GIF mentions online), and dog GIFs had exploded over the previous year to 78,000 dog GIF mentions. Internet trends are all about timing, and based on research, the team knew the dog GIF territory was ripe for the picking.

It already knew people love GIFs and sharing them. But what if it made doggy GIFs that users could actually play with, instead of just share? To do this, GIFs were needed first. So an open casting session was held in Toronto to find dogs with quirky tricks and traits. And in just four days, close to 100 doggy stars and owners came through the doors. Users were then inspired to create their own dog GIF parties using a simple interface.

The world’s largest Dog GIF Party was launched – a place where dog and GIF lovers could give in to their silly side and create doggy dance combinations to share with the world. Users would choose one of four fun venues (Retro Diner, Glow Park, Treat World and Street Party), pick a genre/song (Hip Hop, Latin, Electro and Disco) and start adding as many dog GIFs to the party as they wanted.

Users were also able to move the dogs around, clone them, change their size and upload their own custom background image. So they could make a 32-Dog Hip Hop Party in their own backyard, or a 19-Dog Disco Party on Rob Ford’s head.

With a limited budget, Dog GIF Party was promoted through the Misfits Facebook page – a fan page in its infancy. There was also a small pre-roll video media buy that ran on select blogs. Earned media extended the paid reach by 22% for a total of over 8 million impressions, while 23% of unique visitors created their own Dog GIF Party – exceeding the conversion projections by 460%. Objectives were surpassed by over 300%, with more than 50% of users sharing their GIF parties. The program helped to move product off the shelf with sales increasing 84% while our campaign was in market.