Misfits

"Dog GIF Party Maker"

Proximity was tasked with launching Misfits, a quirky treat for dogs, using digital–only channels. The brand wanted to celebrate the silly side of the pet and owner relationship, so the agency developed a new tagline ("Feed the Funny") and positioned Misfits as the catalyst for fun.

Cats rule the internet, but it was about time our canine friends had their share of the spotlight. Although dogs haven't quite reached cat status on the internet, dog GIFS have actually exploded over the previous year to include 78,000 dog GIF mentions.

So to tap into this trend, the agency held an open casting session in Toronto to find dogs with quirky tricks and traits. And in just four days, it had close to 100 doggy stars and owners come through the doors.

Proximity then inspired users to create their own dog GIF parties. The brand launched the world's largest "Dog GIF Party" – a place where dog and GIF lovers can give in to their silly side and create a doggy dance party to share with the world.

Users were invited to choose one of four fun venues (Retro Diner, Glow Park, Treat World and Street Party), pick a genre or song (Hip Hop, Latin, Electro and Disco) and start adding as many dog GIFS to the party as they want. Users could also move the dogs around, clone them, change their size and even upload their own custom background image.

Users are accustomed to passively watching animated GIFS, but the dance party javascript library gave them a toolbox to actually create animated GIFS. With a limited budget, Dog GIF Party was promoted through the Misfits Facebook page. There was also a small pre–roll video media buy that ran on select blogs.

A whopping 50% of visitors that created a party, shared it. The program generated over 1.5 million earned impressions for a total of 4.4 million impressions. The brand exceeded 30% of its forecasted traffic in the first month of the eight month campaign.