YellowjacketA Modern Strategic Marketing Consultancy
Talkability

Get Joy

Saving Halloween for Dogs

When the NYC Dog Parade was at risk of cancellation, Get Joy saved it — and turned it into the best dog parade the city had ever seen.

Get Joy — Saving Halloween for Dogs
  • ~900media placements
  • 15,000parade attendees
  • +26%orders and sales

The challenge

A young pet-wellness brand needed national attention on a fraction of a national budget, in a category dominated by legacy food companies.

What we did

We moved fast on a cultural opening: rather than sponsoring the city's most famous dog Halloween event, Get Joy stepped in, rescued it and became the story — newsjacking as a growth channel for a wellness brand for dogs and their families.

Watch the parade →

The consequence

Three weeks from cancellation to parade day: 15,000 attendees and more than 600 dogs, nearly double the year before. Almost 900 media placements and 536 broadcast placements with close to 100% message pull-through — two New York Times stories in one month, plus Inc., People, Fox 5, NY1, Pix11, Retail Brew and an ABC Localish feature. Orders and product sales up 26%, Instagram accounts engaged up 136% and in-feed tags up 1,245%.

The work itself.

Parade recap filmVideo
The announcement: Get Joy is saving the parade
The announcement: Get Joy is saving the paradeImage
Parade day, Tompkins Square Park
Parade day, Tompkins Square ParkImage
15,000 people and more than 600 dogs in costume
15,000 people and more than 600 dogs in costumeImage
Campaign imagery for the parade push
Campaign imagery for the parade pushImage
The New York Times — "Tompkins Square Dog Parade Draws Thousands After Near-Cancellation"
The New York Times — "Tompkins Square Dog Parade Draws Thousands After Near-Cancellation"Image
Inc. — "How a Small Connecticut Pet Brand Saved a New York City Dog Parade"
Inc. — "How a Small Connecticut Pet Brand Saved a New York City Dog Parade"Image
People — "See the Cutest Costumed Pups from New York City's Halloween Dog Parade"
People — "See the Cutest Costumed Pups from New York City's Halloween Dog Parade"Image
Fox 5 Good Day New York, one of 536 broadcast placements
Fox 5 Good Day New York, one of 536 broadcast placementsImage
ABC Localish — founder and CEO Tom Arrix on saving the parade
ABC Localish — founder and CEO Tom Arrix on saving the paradeImage

Scored on the
consequential triangle.

Talkability
A brand that rescues a beloved event gets talked about for free.
Defensibility
Being first to act is a position competitors cannot retroactively claim.
Indispensability
The brand attached itself to a ritual its customers already cared about.
Next case studyReimagining Inflammatory Skincare

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