One of the best ways to effectively capture the attention of pet parents is to hold contests and distribute giveaways. Aside from increasing your brand's visibility to a faithful and enthusiastic niche market, these tried-and-tested marketing strategies can help increase customer trust, improve your brand’s relations with your existing client base, and drive traffic to your online storefront.

But for these approaches to be truly impactful, you’ll want to put some thought into the products and items that you intend to give away. Going with cheap, low-quality merchandise might seem cost-effective at first, but this strategy could very well make the intended audience turn on you.

When choosing giveaways for your next promotion, you’ll want to choose ones that are relevant to your business and offer some measure of value to the consumer. Here are a few practical ideas to get you started, classified according to the most common types of pet-owning customers:

The Active Customer

Dog Treat Pouches

Rewarding dogs with treats is an essential strategy for teaching them certain behaviors, similar to other forms of positive reinforcement such as praising or petting them. Additionally, healthy dog snacks can supplement the pet’s daily caloric and protein intake. Dog treat pouches and bags provide fitness enthusiast pet owners with on-the-go access to scrumptious and nutritious snacks for their furry best friends. When choosing a dog treat pouch or bag as a giveaway, look for features such as waterproof lining and durable materials.

Running Leashes

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Pet parents who enjoy bringing their fur babies along on their outdoor runs usually favor running leashes over traditional leashes for the activity. Also known as the waist leash or the hands-free leash, a running leash wraps around the waist of the pet parent, leaving their hands free and thus minimizing tugging or pulling on the dog’s collar. Features that your customers will surely love include easy-snap clasps, carabiners that can hold dog treat pouches or bags, or even matching collars or harnesses.

Convertible Water Bottles

Water bottles have always been a popular giveaway item. You can go a step further and appeal to active pet-owning customers specifically with convertible water bottles that can be used by both owner and pet while they’re out and about. Look for designs that come with a removable plastic bowl for the pet. You can also check out pet-specific water dispensing attachments that can be used with standard water bottles that your customers might already own.

The Fashionable Customer

Pet Clothes

There are few things that fashionable pet owners love more than putting their fur babies in clothes and costumes. For certain dog breeds, pet clothes also provide much-needed warmth and protection from the elements. Pups who suffer from skin conditions or are prone to scratching themselves can also benefit from having an extra barrier of clothing between their skin and their claws. Dog clothes can even protect the pet from allergens in the environment, thus preventing allergic reactions.

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When it comes to pet clothing and apparel, the sky’s the limit! Put your logo on everything from customized doggie coats, t-shirts, hoodies, ties, bow-ties, or bandanas. The branding opportunities are limitless.

The House-Proud Customer

Dog Toy Baskets

Help your house-proud pet parent customers keep their homes clean, clutter-free, and organized with baskets and bins specially made to hold their pups’ precious playthings. They should be just the right height, though, to ensure that pets don’t have any trouble grabbing a toy or two out of them whenever they want. You may want to offer a collapsible design for easy travel and storage. Alternatively, you can design it with a rigid removable bottom to help the bin or basket stay upright.

Pet Hair Removers

Most pet parents have accepted that their fur babies shed a lot of hair. While lint rollers are typically enough to get the fuzz off of furniture, traditional sticky-tape or adhesive rollers can lose their effectiveness after a while. Delight your customers by giving away practical tools designed specifically to clean up dog hair. These can include fine-bristled rollers that can pick up every stray strand of fur off the couch. You can even offer pet hair lifting sponges that can be used on almost every surface of the home, from curtains to bedding.

The Outdoorsy Customer

Collapsible Travel Bowls or Cups

Collapsible bowls or cups help adventurous pet owners keep their loyal companions fed and hydrated while out on the trail, all without the added bulk. Give away branded versions of these items, and your outdoorsy customers will never forget your company name.

When choosing which kinds of collapsible travel bowls or cups to use as giveaways, make sure that they’re made with food-grade, BPA-free materials. You might also want to include other useful features such as a quick-release clip or a metal carabiner that will allow the customer to hang the flat bowl off their pack or bag.

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Next time you launch a promotional giveaway campaign, keep these practical items in mind. Since they’re so useful, your brand can get a lot more mileage out of them, thus keeping your company fresh and relevant in your audience’s mind.