Pets at Home hires Oliver just months after Ogilvy One

Leading UK pet care brand and retailer Pets at Home has appointed in-housing specialist Oliver as CRM agency of record, including the Pets Club loyalty programme, just five months after hiring Ogilvy One to the business.

Quite why the company feels the need to bring in reinforcements so soon is anyone’s guess, although Ogilvy is more of a “strategic partner”, while the Oliver team will run the business on a day to day basis.

The CRM account was previously run solely by Havas CX Helia, but Oliver scooped the account following what Pets at Home called “a highly competitive pitch against five other agencies”.

The move will see a number of CRM experts from Oliver sit alongside Pets at Home colleagues based in Handforth, Cheshire, offering both strategic counsel and support across the entire CRM programme.

As such, Oliver will create an agency solution embedded within the Pets at Home team, as an extension of the business. It will share the same objectives, support the in-house team in its overarching strategy, in an effort to help deliver a market-leading CRM programme to consumers.

The remit also covers collaborating with the brand’s other agency partners, which will include Ogilvy One – which was appointed last September following a five-way pitch – as well as ad agency T&Pm and media business MG OMD. Together they will aim to engage with customers across the Pets at Home portfolio, including retail, vets and grooming.

As well as driving the Pets Club, which has around 8 million members, Oliver will be working with Pets at Home to develop retention and loyalty, including optimising and designing a series of customer journeys for different pet types to drive the best customer experience.

These include everything from trigger comms based on purchasing behaviour, to messages based on the weather, to improving vets’ communications to clients ensuring they never miss a vaccination.

Oliver’s support will include design and delivery of email, app pushes, SMS, and direct mail. The agency will also support on strategic projects and optimisation of the brand’s existing programmes, including consumer-centric journey mapping and robust test-and-learn planning.

It will work closely with Pets at Home to build the company’s CRM strategy for FY25 and beyond, ensuring customers are supported wherever they may be on their pet ownership journey.

Pets at Home marketing director Maddy Shaw said: “We’re moving forward in our aim to deliver the best pet care experience in the world, underpinned by digital transformation. For that, we needed an agency partner to help deliver a market-leading CRM strategy for now and for the future.

“Bringing a partner inside our organisation is a transformative move for us, as data and tech becomes more integral to delivering customer programmes, we need someone that can run side-by-side with us.

“Oliver offered something unique, embedding into our own team to help challenge us and bring our CRM thinking to the next level. We’re really looking forward to working together to bring an even better service to our customers and their beloved pets.”

Oliver UK chief executive Amina Folarin added: “With around 8 million Pets Club members, there’s a huge opportunity to create even greater advocacy and value for each customer – and to assist the brand on its digital transformation journey.

“As an avid pet lover and dog owner, I’m keen to work with Pets at Home to help unlock the value of those loyal customers. We want to give pet owners the most personalised and helpful experience possible, so they know that Pets at Home and Pets Club are the first and only choice when it comes to giving their pet the very best.”