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Research: Del Monte Dogs Blogs To Fetch Pet Trends The maker of 9Lives and Kibbles & Bits is turning to the Internet to sniff out new ideas for products. Del Monte, which owns those brands plus the newly acquired Milk Bone and Meow Mix, is testing a new online service that monitors online blogs and chat rooms to gain insight on how pet owners' view its products. "We help companies stimulate brand interaction with their consumers," said Michael Waite, vice president of panels and communities at MarketTools, San Francisco, maker of the new service called Insight Networks. "Ultimately, that's what consumers want, a one-on-one interaction with the providers of their foods, products or services." Del Monte's not the only food firm to mine such information. Recently, ConAgra followed online chats to track food trend buzz and is now armed with several ideas for its snack food portfolio. "These online conversations are the most important aspect of next generation Web marketing," said Julie Atherton, U.S. digital director at Hill & Knowlton pr, New York. "If you want to really know what people are saying about your brand, you have to listen online." The effort comes as Del Monte has announced a new approach to marketing its pet foods, which emphasizes health and wellness. "Research shows us that, increasingly, folks treat their pets like family members. They care about their diets and health," said Walter Wdowiak, Del Monte's director-marketing research. "We want to hear what concerns people are spontaneously saying about their pets online. Together with our ethnographical research, we'll be better able to detect trends before they would otherwise bubble up." |