MADE IN COLORADO: KONG
A 10 part series on Colorado brands making a statement in their respective fields. Brands being discusses include – Voormi, Kong, Osprey, Stem Ciders, Big Agnes, Melanzana, Otter Box, Sea to Summit, Smartwool and Chaco.
Kong Company: Dogs need to play!
Pupperinos take up about 80% of my heart. I absolutely love my furry friends and it is important to me to have toys that act as entertainment but also learning tools. I am pretty sure everyone has heard of Kong. Kong is one of Colorado’s most famous brands with international notoriety. At Kong’s core they fundamentally believe dogs need to play. Kong is committed to quality, takes pride in being original, understands that variety is the spice of life (even for dogs) and safety is always a top priority. Let’s take a look at their marketing both online, on their packaging and we'll briefly touch on their social channels.
Kong’s website is a little dated meaning they haven’t opted for a scrolling site which is the norm these days, they have stuck to an above the fold format or single page. The first image you see is of a dog with its owner. The love shown in this image really pulls at my heart strings and subsequent imagery of dogs playing also makes my heart swell. What is tricky about this site is different content activates when you hover over different section of the site. Some users might find this tricky in relation to navigating the site or may completely miss it. Where Kong excels is with their “email sign up” which is front and center on their homepage. What a great strategy to gather new acquisitions. Kudo’s Kong!
The navigation is simple with monster menu’s holding the majority of the information. Kong has done a great job providing owners with not only products but different educational items and this implies that Kong is part of the family with wanting your furry friend to have the best life.
I wanted to briefly touch on Kong’s color scheme on their website. The use of primary colors promotes calls to action, suggests intelligence and passion which is a very strategic move. Subtle, but very smart.
Let’s face it, our society doesn’t read as much as we use to and I think Kong could do a better job reducing written pieces and could replace them with video content. Video content is easily digested and a user won’t shy away from the great content Kong has to offer. What is interesting is Kong has really great videos on their Facebook and Instagram pages! I would encourage Kong to pull that type of content on to their website. You doesn't love a good rabbit hole of dog videos?
I wanted to touch on Kong’s followers on social media, but I will save this for another post.
Another improvement is Kong very much speaks to rescue and programs to help dogs who are having a harder start to life, but the website isn’t reflective of this. I didn’t find one image of a hybrid dog (I don’t like the word mutt). Kong, I would strongly encourage you change up some of your imagery because all dogs are beautiful not just the highly desired Retrievers, Labradors and Shepherds. The same can be seen on Kong’s social feed. Kong, do you like hybrid dogs?
While Kong products are a family favorite, I don’t see Kong telling their story. I don’t know who they are, I don't feel the authenticity. While their site has a lot of content, great tips and tricks and blogs about Kong’s dogs, I don’t buy in to the brand. If another brand offered the same durability as Kong does, I would switch. Kong hasn’t done a good job of helping me be loyal to the brand.
Any Kong buyer knows the packaging of their products was created with the dog in mind. The dog can carry the toy while you are in your local pet store and it is easy to remove the zip ties after you leave the store. I do wonder if the sturdiness of the packaging material was selected for when dogs are carrying the toy just in case another toy is found that is more desirable?! Guess we’ll never know. As for the layout of the packaging, it includes all the pertinent information you’d expect, the logo has great placement and of course safety information is always on your toy. Where I’d like Kong do a better job is using colors to differentiate what size dog should be using the toy. I’d suggest changing the top panel of the packaging to dog size specific as opposed to the small differentiation mark in the top left corner. Additionally some of Kong’s packaging has so much information it feels like a hyperactive puppy is jumping on me. This could definitely be cleaned up.
For such a well-known brand I think Kong has done a great job and there are hints of very strategic moves but I don’t think they have nailed it. Without knowing the company’s business strategy or stance on different animal welfare issues, I believe there are several steps they could take to improve their marketing both digitally and product wise. Firstly I’d diversify imagery to show all type of breeds, I’d highlight a toy of the week for owners to learn about and incorporate video content on their site. Finally, I think Kong has missed on telling their story, a massive miss for brand affinity.
Let me know what you think! Visit KongCompany.com and their social handles - @Kong.
*Please note I have not been paid by or sponsored by the aforementioned brand. All thoughts and opinions are my own.