Costco Should Partner With Doug the Pug, Here’s Why!
A Potential Influencer Marketing Partnership
Amid towering walls of plastic-wrapped pallets, rolling hills of all-terrain clothing, and an abundance of perishable goods, Costco has got it all. These bustling, warehouse-style stores and impressive list of low-priced bulk products is an adventure with every visit. Around each turn exists the unexpected, intriguing and entertaining; an empire of inventory.
VIP’s Only
Significant to the energetic hustle and bustle that fuels a Costco shopping trip is the essence of glamorous exclusivity. A business-hour, VIP day club that challenges the ergonomics of standard consumerism with each flash of a Gold Star membership card. Anyone who is anyone is on this VIP list. In fact, 2019 saw nearly 100 million memberships purchased (Conway, 2020).
Exclusive membership benefits just became even more exclusive as non-member access to Costco food courts have diminished. Long standing Costco meal deals, such as the $1.50 hot dog combo, have given outsiders a slice of member benefits for 35 years. As if insider deals (and free samples) weren’t enough motivation to purchase a Costco membership, this radical change is an incentive to convert consumers from the opposite end of the membership spectrum.
A Sinking Social Media Strategy
Costco’s membership business model has created the most exclusive and exciting consumer party around, but the retailer’s social media accounts fall behind on the fun. Sure, Costco’s Instagram strategy highlights its immense product catalogue, but overall posted content is lackluster with comments inquiring about customer service issues rather than related engagement.
“They [Costco] don’t have rich content about products that makes you want to buy” — it seems like they’ve done the bare minimum,” states Jason Goldberg, Chief Commerce Officer for Publicis Sapient (Hensel, 2019).
Costco’s dragging social strategy is attributed to its traditional approach of refrained advertising, but this plan won’t last in an evolving shopping industry. Costco can no longer afford to depend on word of mouth promotion while big-box competitors are adapting to the modern consumer.
Amazon’s $13.7 billion purchase of Whole Foods resulted in a powerhouse partnership promising lowered prices and heightened convenience in person and online (Lutz, 2017). If Costco plans on remaining a fierce industry competitor, the exclusive retailer needs a vibrant partnership of its own.
Costco x Doug the Pug
The king of wholesale would benefit from a social media partnership with “The King of Pop Culture,” Doug the Pug. The famous pug is a social media influencer with over 17 million followers across his many social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and TikTok. His huge smile and ready-for-adventure attitude has fostered an impressive resume worthy of the red carpet!
Doug the Pug’s exclusive lifestyle and zest for life makes him the ideal influencer for Costco. With a long list of celebrity pals and a growing community of loyal fans, this social media star strives for the exclusive “gotta have it all” lifestyle that Costco promotes.
Managed by his mom, Leslie Mosier, Doug posts pictures and videos of his glamorous A-lister life. He can be spotted sporting the hippest fashion, munching on In-N-Out, or stepping up to the latest social media challenge.
What makes Doug the Pug an even greater match for Costco? Doug gets the party started by simply being a dog! “Pet influencers have all the traditional benefits of human influencer marketing with some unique plus factors,” states Loni Edwards, Founder and CEO of The Dog Agency. “Pets tend to get higher engagement, and they’re relatable across age, gender and location (Yagoda, 2017). More so, Doug emphasizes relatability by ending his captions with a friendly sign off, “-Doug.”
Further proving Doug the Pug and Costco a match made in surplus heaven is a shared practice in limited paid advertising. “Doug rarely does sponsored posts,” explains Doug’s Mom and Manager, Moiser. This common interest would make a genuine connection between the two. Moiser shares that Doug’s chosen partnerships have been with practical items that humans can relate to like Febreze or Flonaise (Yagoda, 2017).
Fingers Crossed!
The possibility of a Costco and Doug the Pug collaboration is an exciting thought! The trendy influencer has the potential to turn heads and transform Costco’s social presence for the better. Fingers are crossed to see this concept turn into a reality.
Citations
Conway, J. (2020, April 03). Costco total card holders worldwide 2019. Retrieved from https://www.statista.com/statistics/718406/costco-membership/
Hensel, A. (2019, June 03). ‘There are some real sales to be had there’: Costco is finally figuring out its e-commerce strategy. Retrieved from https://digiday.com/retail/real-sales-costco-finally-figuring-e-commerce-strategy/
Lutz, A. (2017, August 24). Amazon is officially buying Whole Foods - here’s everything that will change for customers. Retrieved from https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-buys-whole-foods-changes-2017-8
Yagoda, M. (2017, August 25). The Internet’s Biggest Food Influencer May Just Be a Pug. Retrieved from https://www.foodandwine.com/news/internets-biggest-food-influencer-doug-pug
