Elevating Pet Insurance to a National Conversation for Growth
Insight
In the minds of many pet parents, young and healthy animals don’t need insurance—until an unexpected illness or injury forces a heart-wrenching, high-cost decision. Despite the rising costs of veterinary care—up 234.8% since 1997 and accelerating with 2022’s record 8.83% inflation rate—pet insurance remains underutilized and misunderstood. Embrace Pet Insurance saw an opportunity not just to grow market share but to shift public perception and drive education, establishing pet insurance as a must-have protection for modern families.
Strategy
As Embrace’s trusted PR partner, Falls & Co. developed and executed a national media relations campaign to:
— Position Embrace as a trusted voice in pet health, safety, and company culture.
— Build consumer awareness of the brand and the benefits of pet insurance.
— Establish Embrace leadership as forward-thinking industry experts.
— Drive earned media through both evergreen and timely news opportunities.
The campaign success would be measured by earned media placements and national impressions, ensuring both quantity and quality of exposure.
Result
Breakthrough Visibility and National Reach
84 earned placements— (30% increase of prior year)
52% coverage in national outlets like: Yahoo! Life, Forbes, MSN, Newsweek, and Best Life 3.8 billion total impressions (165% YOY)
88% from national coverage, and multiple posts in HuffPost, The Dodo, and Daily Paws.
Campaign Elements
- Strategic Media Calendar
- Data-Driven Storytelling
- Matched media cycles (timely + evergreen)
- Made experts available to media (Veterinarians, vet techs, President)
- Injected Embrace into cultural convos (holidays, return to office)
Falls & Co. put together a national media relations campaign that focused on generating awareness of the Embrace brand with its target audience, educating consumers on the benefits of pet insurance and highlighting Embrace as a thought leader in the pet insurance industry, culture, pet health and safety.
Pitched and responded to various media requests with data and information from registered veterinary technicians, veterinarians, and their President, CEO.
Based on Embrace’s database of pet information, Falls extracted popular holiday-inspired pet names around Halloween and the winter holidays to engage with audiences.
Distributed press releases and story pitches that answered frequently asked pet-related questions and provided insights on popular pet-related topics.
Pet Parents (Humanizing Owners)
- Profile: Urban dwellers, Millennials, Gen Z, DINKs, Empty Nesters.
- Psychographics: They see their pets as children. High emotional investment. Spend on birthdays, wellness, accessories.
- Purchase Habits: Willing to spend premium on health, nutrition, grooming, enrichment, and even therapy.
Traditional Pet Owners
- Profile: Families with kids, rural/suburban households.
- Psychographics: Pets are companions, sometimes guard dogs or hunters in rural areas.
- Purchase Habits: Practical spenders—focus on essential health and food. May invest in training and vet care.
Elderly Pet Companions
- Profile: Retirees, single seniors.
- Psychographics: Pets provide comfort, routine, emotional therapy.
- Purchase Habits: Spend moderately on health. Might opt for services like mobile vet care or pet sitting.
First-Time Pet Owners / Rescuers
- Profile: Often younger adults or new families.
- Psychographics: Eager to learn, emotionally driven, influenced by social media and rescue stories.
- Purchase Habits: Heavy spenders initially—on training, bedding, toys, nutrition. Open to insurance and subscriptions.
Lifestyle-Oriented Pet Owners
- Profile: Fitness lovers, travelers, wellness-minded individuals.
- Psychographics: Pets are activity partners or part of a curated lifestyle.
- Purchase Habits: Invest in premium foods, joint supplements, hiking gear, and GPS collars.
Generated evergreen topics—relevant to pet care topics like nutrition, regular vet visits, or insurance myths.
Timely lifestyle/pet health topics throughout the year capitalized on what was trending in the media.
