DTC Luggage Brand Away Is Marketing New Pet Carriers Directly to Furry Travelers

In time for International Dog Day on Wednesday, and after months of lonely homebound humans rushing to bring new pets into their lives during lockdown, direct-to-consumer (DTC) luggage brand Away has added a new, animal-centric item to its repertoire: a pet carrier. To promote the new product, Away's marketing team worked to get inside the heads of the pet carrier's target audience—pets. Because while humans are spending a lot of time dreaming of vacationing these days, surely their dogs, cats, bunnies and hedgehogs are as well, right? With that in mind, Away made sure that each piece of marketing was pet-focused, from thoughtful product design to scented travel posters to messaging that strokes the feline ego. "The experience of getting out there and getting out on the road is not just about the owners but about the pets as well," said Away svp of marketing Selena Kalvaria. Focusing on four major pet-dense cities—Boston, Chicago, New York and San Francisco—Away is running out-of-home (OOH) ads near places that those furry friends frequent, like popular dog parks. The Cairo posters advertise the Egyptian capital as a place where cats can find "the respect you deserve." The retro-style travel posters are low to the ground, which is eye-level for travel-size pets, and are painted with a scented coating to ensure that no pet walks by without noticing the ads. The scents for each poster coordinate with the destination featured; for instance, the Buenos Aires poster smells like steak, Cairo smells like catnip and Yosemite is scented with cedar. The posters also highlight parts of each vacation destination that appeal uniquely to pets. In Cairo, for example, cats can get "the respect you deserve," the posters announce. In Buenos Aires, "meat is easy to steal," and in Yosemite, dogs can look forward to peeing "on a sequoia." All of the messages point toward future trips, given the restrictions still in place across the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic, encouraging pets to "get excited for later" with a new pet carrier. The scented posters are positioned at nose level for travel-size dogs and cats. In addition to the OOH execution, Away has partnered with several four-legged Instagram influencers to test out and promote the product to pets and their owners. It's not just for dogs and cats, either. Hedgehog influencer Lionel also endorsed the new carrier. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEUqOM7nALr/ Away's website got a partial remodel for the launch of the pet carrier, too, with dreamlike imagery featuring furry models testing out the carrier. The team also did a small celebrity outreach for the product, focusing on those who often post about their pets on social media. Actress Kerry Washington, who owns a shorkie (Shih Tzu and Yorkshire terrier) named Josephine Baker, gave Away a shoutout on her Instagram Story after receiving her pet carrier. Kerry Washington posted about her pup's new Away carrier. Away's been working on the pet carrier for over two years, said Kalvaria. The team spent a lot of time "trying to perfect it with the same design language and features that you'd expect from any Away bag," said Kalvaria. The goal was to "make it seamless not only for the luggage owner but for the pets themselves." The timing of the product release was also something that the team spent a lot of time considering, said Kalvaria. But after seeing so many fans bringing pets into their lives during lockdown, the brand felt that the timing was right for the launch. While folks may not be comfortable flying right now, they are starting to plan for the future and are road-tripping around the country in the meantime. At the time of publishing, Away had already sold out of pet carriers in its light blue color but still had inventory left in black. While Away declined to say how many bags are available for the initial release, Kalvaria said the team expected the inventory to last at least two weeks. The last year has been a tumultuous one for Away's top leadership. Following reports of a toxic work environment at the company, co-founder and CEO Steph Korey stepped back from the company in December 2019 only to return as co-CEO in January. This summer, Korey posted a string of social posts criticizing the media, leading to an announcement that she'd be stepping down within the year, according to The Verge.