Brand marketers aimed to be top dog during yesterday’s much-celebrated, unofficial holiday: National Dog Day. Wily strategists moved in on social media conversations that took over Twitter by early morning. And with good reason: Americans own more pets now than ever before. In 1988 the American Pet Products Association reported that 56% of households in the United States had a pet in the family. Compare that to more than 68% of U.S. homes in 2014 that had at least one family pet—that’s more than 82 million homes. And pet industry analysts say they expect that number to grow.
By 10 p.m., social analytics firm Topsy tracked more than 569,000 tweets with the hashtag #NationalDogDay. So it stands to reason that marketers would want to leave their paw prints on the conversation. And dozens of companies did just that. From animal rights activist group PETA to tech company Yahoo! and space program NASA, social media marketers rode the wave of excitement to draw attention to their brands. Check it out.
Disney
Dug has just met you and he loves you. Happy #NationalDogDay!
https://t.co/R4dpWY80MP
— Disney (@Disney) August 26, 2015
Subaru
Your dog would do anything for you. What amazing things can you do for them? Share how you #MakeADogsDay.
https://t.co/f4hGD2omIw
— Subaru (@subaru_usa) July 1, 2015
Nissan
Bow wow. #OMGTR #NationalDogDay
?: @duskinterteling | @tmartn | Stitch and Nala pic.twitter.com/jbNLHxS0nc
— Nissan (@Nissan) August 26, 2015
Hallmark
Happy #NationalDogDay to all you crazy canine lovers! pic.twitter.com/zgwff4KK9F
— Hallmark Cards (@Hallmark) August 26, 2015
Michaels
Happy #NationalDogDay! Retweet if you’re celebrating your #dog today! http://t.co/dcVClP3Xmm pic.twitter.com/HNrXj0PiPc
— Michaels Stores (@MichaelsStores) August 26, 2015
Wix.com
“Susan, cancel all my meetings. It’s #NationalDogDay, and I’m going to the park.” pic.twitter.com/djYbFL1xgb
— Wix.com (@Wix) August 26, 2015
Mercedes-Benz
This #NationalDogDay we celebrate all of those who are always down to ride out the dog days of summer. pic.twitter.com/n9KHr0NUIe
— Mercedes-Benz USA (@MBUSA) August 26, 2015
FreshDirect
Cute dogs in FreshDirect boxes make our ?s full. #NationalDogDay pic.twitter.com/fJTY5aHKT9
— FreshDirect (@FreshDirect) August 26, 2015
3M
Home is where your dog is…hair & all. #NationalDogDay pic.twitter.com/lkfXtsiP7H
— 3M (@3M) August 26, 2015
Jet Blue Airways
Pups can live it UP at the dog park on the #T5Rooftop at JFK! #NationalDogDay #Wooftop #RuffLife #DeptOfBarksAndRec pic.twitter.com/x6kbKenIor
— JetBlue Airways (@JetBlue) August 26, 2015
Cleveland Browns
Did someone say #NationalDogDay? ? pic.twitter.com/53n6ICuPaw
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 26, 2015
Dodge
Happy #NationalDogDay. pic.twitter.com/kskbL92RE2
— Dodge (@Dodge) August 26, 2015
Yankee Candle
Happy #NationalDogDay to all our dog-loving fandles! Special shout-out to Otis, one of our biggest fandles pic.twitter.com/rES2psx4cq
— Yankee Candle Co (@TheYankeeCandle) August 26, 2015
