“Dogs love gifts” – The image of a dog in the marketing narrative of selected pet and dog parenting brands in the context of organizing birthday parties for animals.

Abstract

For years, we have been observing a change in the perception of the role of dogs in our society. Initially serving the role of utility animals, meeting the needs of their owners, more and more often they have being treated by their owners like children. The phenomenon of the personification of the dog, to which typically human desires and motivations are often attributed, has not left the pet industry indifferent. The market has not only been showing a growth trend for years, but is also becoming an open space for new products and services aimed at even greater "humanisation" of dogs.

This article is an attempt to answer the question of what image of the dog emerges from marketing narratives of brands operating in the pet and dog parenting industries as well as whether and to what extent the trend of humanization of the dog present among society is visible in them. For this purpose, marketing narratives that encourage dog owners to organize birthday parties for their pets - events originally dedicated only to people - were analyzed. The author also explains what the pet parenting microtrend is and its impact on the marketing communication of the pet industry.