THIRSTY CATS, THIRSTY DOGS

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     Each one of us would unanimously agree upon the fact that we are usually skeptical about drinking water quality in public utilities. Gone are the days when we used to get down at a railway station and refill our reusable water bottles in those drinking water taps, these days most of us would prefer to get a bottle of packaged drinking water. What drives us to get a bottle of Bisleri is the conception that it is safe for drinking with added minerals. The irony is there are also people who use these packaged water even for their household purpose since they are the ones who run out of time to fill water for drinking and household chores.
     According to a 2011 Harris poll, 90% of pet owners think of their pet as members of the family. A couple of days ago on the Eve of Valentine’s, there was a beautiful image all over social media, of a lady celebrating Valentine’s day with her adorable pet. Have you ever thought of a packaged drinking water for your pet, it may sound crazy but yes there was a company which manufactured packaged drinking water for pets and that too with flavors like beef and fish.
     Thirsty Cats and Thirsty Dogs came up with this unique idea. This could have been a unique concept, nobody would have ever thought of but unfortunately serving as an example of classic brand failure. Different people came up with different interpretations about this failure, the peculiar ones being- the idea of packaged drinking water for pets was not acceptable, meat flavor seemed awkward and pet owners were resistant towards it. 
     What went wrong with Thirsty Cats and Thirsty Dogs was it lacked effective market research. Market research plays a very important role in understanding consumer buying behavior, which in turn plays a crucial role in identifying what they actually need. Before launching, the company should have analyzed the market beforehand instead of facing such backlash post-launch. 
     Proper market research would have helped them to understand well in advance that nobody had ever thought of a packaged drinking water for their pet and that to meat flavored. With this data, they could have either scraped the idea or would have introduced it in such a way that it persuades the pet owners with something like-‘this particular water with added minerals will make your pet more energetic and double their immune.’ Something like this would have definitely sounded in a better way compared to beef or fish-flavored packaged drinking water.
     We are still debating upon-‘Markets are found or created.’ Whatever it is, nothing is going to work without proper market research. It is comparatively easier to introduce a new product in existing portfolio, line or category but if it is about launching an out of the box concept it's important to research more and more.
     Therefore it is rightly said- "Marketing without data is like driving with your eyes closed."                                                                                                                                       

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