Dog TV – a new marketing delight

When it seems that media companies have nothing left to invent, a rebuttal comes from Israel. Dog TV was launched on the first day of August, targeting 35 million subscribers of the American satellite network Direct TV. The founder and CEO of the channel, Israeli Ron Levi, is convinced that his new channel, with the help of American partners, will create a small revolution in the media market and bring joy to the lives of pets and their owners.

Clearly, although dogs are the main target group for program creators, many advertisers, pet food manufacturers, and equipment producers are expected to allocate part of their marketing budgets to increase sales, strengthen their brand, and help the founder raise enough money for experiments and quality content.

Although the idea may sound crazy at first, in the context of the overall pet market (from food to spa zones for four-legged friends) which does not decline despite the crisis, it makes perfect sense. Levi assures that profit is secondary to him, and the satisfaction of pets is the main motivation for introducing this unique project to the market.

Nothing without a cat The entire idea of launching a television channel for pets was born a few years ago when Levi lived with the unfortunately late cat Charlie. Since Levi was earning a living, Charlie often stayed home alone, which caused his owner immense guilt. To ease his conscience, Levi recorded footage of fish in an aquarium on DVD and would play that multi-hour recording for the cat just before leaving the house.

As the cat reportedly enjoyed passing the time watching television until Levi returned, the Israeli experienced an ‘eureka’ moment and began developing Dog TV because, as he says, dogs are more numerous but also more sensitive to the absence of their human friends. ‘We want to entertain and relax dogs,’ explained the enthusiastic Levi to Fast Company journalists, who is convinced that dog owners will not think much about whether their dogs need a new channel if it costs them only $4.99 a month.

In a recent interview with Forbes, Dog TV CEO Gilad Neumann assures that the television channel is a very effective solution for the emotional stress that dogs experience when their owners leave them alone for several hours, hoping that viewers will provide them with the opportunity to prove this thesis. For years, authorities have recommended that dog owners leave the television or radio on before leaving their homes, and now, Neumann says, they have the ideal channel.

Ideal because sounds and movement are just a small part of the content tailored to the needs and desires of dogs. Modern technology has allowed creators to change visual elements of the displayed content in post-production, such as colors, since it is known that dogs are colorblind to certain colors or perceive some differently than the human eye registers.

Tailored program Furthermore, the Dog TV program is based on the triad of relaxation, stimulation, and exposure. By exposure, it refers to sounds that cause stress in dogs, and thus, Neumann believes, the program can also have an educational character. In other words, during certain time sequences, dogs will be exposed to sounds such as vacuum cleaners, cars, or children’s laughter to get them accustomed to and teach them about such stimuli.

This is something that dogs need, assures the team behind the program, which has spent the last four years creating the program, two of which were spent researching the needs of dogs (resulting in 40 studies on dog behavior and senses), and two spent on content development and testing the channel in San Diego. Having received the green light from viewers in that market, the founder of Jasmine TV has partnered with the satellite network Direct TV, which is currently available in 20 million households and is estimated to have at least 36 million viewers. Since dogs live in 40 percent of American households, the Dog TV project could easily double the number of viewers, and given that Jasmine TV has maintained a very successful business collaboration with other television networks like HBO for years, they plan to present it in the European and Asian markets after the American one.

Essentially, Dog TV targets dogs that are left home alone. It would be completely unrealistic to expect advertisers to blindly spend their hard-earned marketing budgets. The founders have thought of this as well and plan to air programs in the afternoon and evening, such as themed movies or educational shows that will interest dog owners.

Bright future This is, for example, an ideal ground for advertisements and sponsorships, especially those aimed at both humans and dogs. This was first introduced two years ago by Nestlé, advertising their dog food Beneful. In their television commercial, dogs can hear high-frequency sounds tailored just for them. This is supposed to attract the attention of pets, and since no one expects dogs to reach for their wallets and buy Beneful, it is assumed that their owners would reward such advertising efforts. And these trends in the pet marketing world give a boost to Levi and his manager Neumann, who are making statements in the global media that burst with optimism.

The crisis has shown that the pet market is resilient to the depletion of consumer budgets, and the number of dogs in households is rising year after year. ‘Homo sapiens’ do not skimp on their four-legged friends, so even the amount of a mere twenty kuna for 24-hour entertainment for lonely dogs will surely not be too much.

By the end of the year, Levi predicts, concrete reactions from viewers and owners will be known, providing a clearer perspective on this revolutionary media venture. If the actual results are at least half as good as the optimism of the owners, European dogs could enjoy television entertainment in 2014. Dear dogs, welcome to the 21st century.