Leading petcare brand Hartz has named creative and media agency Cutwater, with offices in San Francisco and New York City, as its creative and media agency of record, following a comprehensive review.
Under this new relationship, Cutwater will spearhead communications efforts, such as: creative, media buying and planning, along with brand and social strategy. The agency will work across Hartz’s nationally trusted portfolio of dog and cat products. The product categories include Dog Pads and Diapers, Flea and Tick Protection, as well as Dog and Cat Treats and Toys.
“We’re thrilled to be partnering with Hartz. The brand’s rich legacy and ongoing mission is a huge draw for an agency like ours, which has a thing for legacy brands. For almost 100 years, Hartz has championed one of the greatest bonds of all: families and their furry friends,” explains Cutwater Founder and CCO Chuck McBride. “I believe the brand to be more relevant now than ever. As we all know, pet ownership has increased dramatically over the past two years, hence, a huge demand for pet supplies and advice. There are many innovations and trends happening within this space and we look forward to helping Hartz continue their conversation through our creative-led approach.”
Excited by the opportunities this partnership opens for the year ahead, Hartz CMO Tina LeLay says, “Like never before in our long history, today at Hartz, we have big plans to build both the Hartz and Delectables brands in 2022 and beyond. We believe that Cutwater is the best agency to support our aggressive plans to develop our brands, especially with the growing population of new pet owners.”
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She adds, “Cutwater was chosen after an extensive search because they demonstrated a strong interest in understanding the world of petcare today, including deeply understanding the needs of pet parents today, solid analytical and strategic planning skills, and a track record of delivering bold communication ideas to build meaningful brand differentiation. In addition, we at Hartz are especially interested in better leveraging the power of social media to connect with pet parents in a way that furthers our mission to ensure that pets and people share a happy life together. The Cutwater team shares our enthusiasm in this area.”
The inaugural campaign, which will focus on Delectables, the first gourmet wet cat treat, is slated to roll out during the late summer of 2022.
According to Cutwater Principal and President Christian Hughes, “This collaboration reflects a period of growth for Cutwater. We enjoy building distinctive brand platforms, especially in CPG. The Hartz team came to us with a strong, foundational strategic vision for their business. We can’t wait to share the creative platform as well as creative and media approach that’s going to talk to the new generation of pet owners.”
Hartz Director of Marketing Stacy Kisla adds, “The whole marketing team is really excited about our new partnership with Cutwater and looking forward to working together on strengthening both our Hartz and Delectables brands.”
