Making Pet Health Fun: How Gamification Can Help Brands Level Up

A few weeks ago, Wellness Pet Company announced a partnership with the fitness app Strava and the subsequent “Pet Minutes That Matter” challenge. This challenge encourages pet parents to use Strava’s app or website to log 250 active minutes with their pet throughout May. Not only is this challenge a great opportunity for pet parents to spend time with their animal companions, but this outreach is also a perfect example of how brands can leverage the latest lifestyle trends of which pet parents are already a part.

Gamification has been a bit of a buzzword for the last decade. Apps like Duolingo have made language learning into a fun and competitive process, while companies like Chili’s and Purina have launched their own games to drive brand awareness. In the last few years, however, gamification has really taken off in the wellness space. Pokémon Sleep, Finch, and Pikmin Bloom are all recent, highly gamified takes on physical and mental health, including sleep, self-care, and fitness, respectively.

Wellness’ partnership with Strava isn’t the only step the pet industry has taken into the gamification space: aside from Purina’s Rolox game, FetchFind offers mini, gamified lessons (micro-lessons or micro-learning) to pet industry professionals in a wide range of categories, from team management to pet grooming and pet walking.

Gaming Saves Lives

While at first glance this looks like yet another trend that will go away soon, there are some real benefits to gamifying pet care. As of 2023, 61% of cats and 59% of dogs in the United States were overweight or obese, yet only a small percentage of pet owners recognized when their pet is at an unhealthy weight. This issue persists today, but partnerships like the one between Wellness Pet and Strava help encourage activity for both pets and people, a key step toward addressing the pet obesity crisis.

It’s also important to note that gamification isn’t the only way technology has changed the way people participate in their pets’ health. Wearable technology, such as health-tracking collars, can help owners track their pets’ activity levels and monitor their weight loss progress. Gamification just adds an extra level of fun to solving this growing problem within the industry.

Why Gamification Works

An interesting point to consider about gamification is that it keeps people coming back, even if it doesn’t  revolve around a website or app. When I was a kid, my local library held a summer reading challenge. I would log the number of pages I read onto a chart, and every time I hit a milestone, I could show my chart to a volunteer at the library and choose a mini rubber duck as my prize. I participated in this challenge well into my teenage years (although I must say that the prizes they offered for teens were not nearly as exciting as a tiny duck). Point being, I came back year after year. The thrill of winning a prize and the satisfaction of reading more than my younger brothers drew me in every summer.

If brands can harness that excitement and energy, the pet space could be completely transformed. Caring for a pet is already fulfilling, but with the additional dopamine rush that comes from earning a badge or competing against friends, you can help pet parents care for their furry friends while driving awareness to your product.

Time to Level Up

Whether it’s in person, on social media, or through wellness apps, brands should try to meet pet parents where they are. We’re in a digital age—so be a part of that digital age. Wellness Pet Company is a pet food brand, but their partnership with Strava demonstrates that they truly care about the well-being of pets and are committed to keeping them healthy by encouraging regular exercise.

So, where can your brand do this? If you don’t want to put in the extensive time and resources needed to create an app, you could do something as simple as creating your own challenge to put on your website with a prize or product discounts for participanting pet parents. You could also consider partnering with the many apps that exist today, as Wellness Pet has done with Strava here. There are endless ways to gamify the health and wellness of pets, and it’s a great way to reach health-oriented pet owners, strengthen the human-animal bond, and support the well-being of pets in the process.

You don’t have to do it alone, either. Our team at BSM Partners covers a vast range of expertise and has over 400 years of combined experience, including consumer insights, optimizing health and wellness, and growing businesses. Don’t miss out on consumer connection because it’s new and intimidating. Let’s build a healthier world for pets together.

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About the Author

Cady Wolf is an Analyst Intern at BSM Partners. She graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English from Brigham Young University-Idaho, and she currently lives in Rexburg, Idaho with her husband, their two cats, and pet tortoise. She loves animals and learning about how to help pet brands and pet parents alike.