Adventure Cats

Design: Ferma Branding Agency
Location: Russia
Project Type: Produced
Product Launch Location: Global
Packaging Contents: Wood litter for cats
Packaging Substrate / Materials: Plastic
Printing Process: Digital printing

The task
Our task was to develop an emotional packaging of sawdust cat litter. Our objective was to convey in the design the key advantage of the product, which is its environmental friendliness and naturalness.

The product
This wood litter is made in order to take care of pets. It is a product made from birch sawdust, a natural and environmentally friendly raw material. There are no impurities or additives in it. Even the most capricious pets and their owners will be pleased to use this product. The litter is hypoallergenic and does not stick to the animals’ paws. It has a pronounced woody aroma, absorbs moisture well, keeps litter box odor at bay, and most importantly, it can be flushed down the drain.

The market and competitors

1. Most manufacturers of wood fillers for cat litter work with a strategy based on “natural” communication. This solution allows them to turn away from silica gel fillers. However, they lose their uniqueness.
2. An emotional communication is absent. Brands only appeal to rational benefits.
3. The packaging looks utilitarian and traditional. There are mostly static images of pets and the green colour is used as an accent on naturalness with a large brand label.

The consumers
Our consumers are modern city dwellers. Their pets are their true friends. They choose the very best products to show them love. The audience closely monitors what pets like and pays attention to their companions’ habits and behaviours. Because of the lack of opportunities for urban cats to be in the fresh air, consumers regularly try to choose more environmentally friendly products that pets would like and which wouldn’t cause any allergies.

The naming
In the name «Adventure Cats», we capture the spirit of a pet adventure. Every cat loves to create its adventure by climbing the shelves and curtains, crawling through a small window, hunting moths or running around the flat. But what they especially love is peering out the window and looking at what’s going on in the street. Everything is more interesting there after all! The naming echoes the cats’ wild habits, instincts and their desire for everything new and unknown.

The design idea
The love of freedom and the search for something new. While developing the design idea, we started pondering over a key consumer insight: finding an environmentally friendly product that recreates pets’s natural habitats through smell and texture, which could make them a little happier. As for the idea, we worked on the story of an owner's daily adventures and journeys with their cat. The pet anticipates something interesting and rushes towards the unknown with the owner.

The results

• We prepared the brand for their market entry strategy.
• We discovered the key USP of the product (environmental friendliness)
• We differentiated ourselves from competitors thanks to an emotional communication.

What's Unique?
We placed an emotional illustration at the centre of the packaging, which appeals to the pet owners. It also reveals a sense of freedom and an adventure spirit, while emphasising the crucial role of a pet in the life of its owner. The hyperbole in the form of a massive cat and a small man on its back gives the story a fantasy character. The illustration with fields and natural spaces is extended along the perimeter of the package and doesn’t only reveal the spirit of adventure, but also the naturalness of the product. We used clean pastel colours with bright accents to draw attention to the main character: the pet.

The orange cat highlights the packaging on the shelf and gives the brand a unique character defined by decisiveness, boldness and mischievousness. The important information for the consumer is presented on the back of the package. One can find a large composition and laconic infographics which include the brand benefits. We put a lot of emphasis on the easy use of the product and added some emotion to the marketing copy.