SPAY/NEUTER BLITZ TOOLKIT Congratulations on being a grant recipient for our national grant programs to help spay/neuter clinics fix female cats, young puppies, kittens, and Pit Bulls during monthlong campaigns. Whether you applied to participate in only one campaign or are joining us for all three, we re delighted to partner with you on this effort to increase spay/neuter surgeries in your community. The Beat the Heat campaign will be held in February to spay as many female cats as possible before they go into heat and have those litters that create kitten season in the spring months. The "Did You Know?" pediatric spay/neuter campaign begins in June, and will promote pediatric spay/neuter by sterilizing puppies and kittens as young as 8 weeks old. Primp Your Pit will be held in August, giving you the resources to spay or neuter as many Pit Bull-type dogs, both males and females, as possible. Before launching these campaigns, please review our style guidelines to ensure that you reference PetSmart Charities and this national grant program properly in all your external communications and in your social media. Also, please review our media resource pages with tips on working with the media. Marketing and media planning should begin 8 to 10 weeks in advance of each campaign to ensure timely and effective placement of marketing materials and press releases. How to Get Started As part of your grant, your agency has access to two marketing resources to help you promote your spay/neuter blitz program:
CREATIVE A professional graphic designer will customize a set of marketing materials that includes a flyer, postcard, Facebook widget, and a website widget. The designer will place your organization s logo and information in the materials you wish to use so they are ready to use. Please contact Jennifer Harrington at The Ad Lab at jennifer@labertising.com or 330-284-7460 as soon as you receive funding. MARKETING A media and marketing specialist can help you create a marketing plan unique to your community. This specialist will advise you on how to use the professionally developed marketing materials and press release templates and show you how to maximize your grant marketing dollars and work with the news media to ensure your campaign is successful. Please contact Cathy Rosenthal at mediacontact@petsmartcharities.org or 512-358-4515 as soon as possible to schedule your private consultation and discuss strategies to reach the target audiences in your community. We hope you find this information helpful. Working together, we can save more pets lives! SAMPLE FLYERS PetSmart Charities 2
PUBLIC RELATIONS: Beat the Heat Local News Release Template [INSERT ORGANIZATION S LOGO] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January XX, 2013 MEDIA CONTACT: Name, Title Organization Phone / Email address Cat Parents Should Beat the Heat Before Spring with [ORGANIZATION] s Spay/Neuter Promotion CITY, State, (Month Day, Year) It may seem that warmer weather is still out of reach, but now is the time to beat the heat by spaying your cat in advance of her heat cycle and preventing unwanted litters before kitten season arrives this spring, a time when shelters see large numbers of unwanted litters being born. To help reduce the number of homeless cats, [ORGANIZATION] is offering a Beat the Heat promotion sponsored by PetSmart Charities. During [PROMOTION TIME PERIOD], [ORGANIZATION] will spay/neuter female cats for a special rate of $[X]. Spaying and neutering is one of the most effective ways to reduce the homeless pet population. While some worry that their pet may be too young for this procedure, spaying and neutering is safe for kittens as young as eight to 10 weeks old, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, and spaying a female cat before the first heat cycle is actually beneficial, rather than waiting until after one heat cycle has occurred. The procedure is known to improve the health of the pet, including a reduced risk of certain reproductive cancers and infections. Many people don t know that female cats can have as many as three litters a year, and kittens can breed as young as four months old, says [NAME, TITLE]. It s our goal to bring female cats in before they go into heat and become pregnant. Our Beat the Heat promotion is a fun way to educate the community and prevent unwanted litters. This special rate is even less than the organization s normal low-cost price and is available to all residents of [COUNTY/CITY]. Cat parents who wish to take advantage of this offer must mention the Beat the Heat promotion when they schedule their appointment. The promotion is based on availability. Please visit [WEBSITE] or call [NUMBER] for more information or to schedule an appointment. PetSmart Charities 3
About [YOUR ORGANIZATION] [INSERT YOUR BOILERPLATE LANGUAGE] About PetSmart Charities Established in 1994, PetSmart Charities, Inc. is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that creates and supports programs that save the lives of homeless pets, raise awareness of companion animal welfare issues and promote healthy relationships between people and pets. The largest funder of animal-welfare efforts in North America, PetSmart Charities has provided more than $165 million in grants and programs benefiting animal-welfare organizations and has helped save the lives of more than 5 million pets through its in-store adoption program. To learn more about how PetSmart Charities is working toward its vision of a lifelong, loving home for every pet, visit petsmartcharities.org or call 1-800-423- PETS (7387). # # # PetSmart Charities 4
Did You Know? Local News Release Template FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May XX, 2013 [INSERT ORGANIZATION S LOGO] MEDIA CONTACT: Name, Title Organization Phone / Email address Did you know puppies and kittens can go into heat as early as 4 months old? PetSmart Charities Did You Know? Campaign offers $20 spay/neuter surgeries for puppies and kittens under 6 months old CITY, STATE (MAY XX, 2013) Did you know that kittens can go into heat and get pregnant as early as 4 months old and puppies around 5 months old? If not sterilized, puppies and kittens can get pregnant and have a litter of their own just two months later. And it s these accidental litters that end up in animal shelters with no place to call home. To reduce these accidental births, [ORGANIZATION], with funding provided by PetSmart Charities, is introducing the Did You Know? Campaign, featuring a special $20 spay or neuter surgery for puppies and kittens under six months of age during the month of June. While some pet parents may worry that their pet is too young for this procedure, spaying and neutering is safe and easy for kittens and puppies as young as eight to 10 weeks old, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. In fact, [ORGANIZATION] has performed more than [NUMBER] pediatric spay/neuter surgeries since [YEAR]. Many owners put off the procedure and wait until the puppy or kitten is six to eight months old, says (NAME, TITLE, ORGANIZATION]. But by then, it can be too late. By then, a litter of puppies or kittens can be born. This special rate is even less than the organization s normal low-cost priced and is available to all residents of [COUNTY/CITY]. Pet parents who wish to take advantage of this offer must mention the Did You Know? promotion when they call to schedule their appointment. PetSmart Charities 5
Thanks to the PetSmart Charities grant, [ORGANIZATION] will provide [NUMBER] puppy and kitten sterilizations for $20 during June. Please visit [WEBSITE] or call [NUMBER] for more information or to schedule an appointment. About [YOUR ORGANIZATION] [INSERT YOUR BOILERPLATE LANGUAGE] About PetSmart Charities PetSmart Charities, Inc. is a nonprofit animal welfare organization that saves the lives of homeless pets. More than 400,000 dogs and cats find homes each year through our adoption program in all PetSmart stores and our signature adoption events. PetSmart Charities grants more money to directly help pets in need than any other animal welfare group in North America, with a focus on funding spay/neuter programs that help communities solve pet overpopulation. PetSmart Charities is a 501(c)(3) organization, legally independent from PetSmart, Inc. PetSmart Charities 6
Primp Your Pit Local News Release Template [INSERT ORGANIZATION S LOGO] FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July XX, 2013 MEDIA CONTACT: Name, Title Organization Phone / Email address [ORGANIZATION] Urges Pit Bull Parents to Prevent Unwanted Litters Through its Primp Your Pit (bull) Promotion Low Cost Spay/Neuter Surgery Offered with Free Nail Trim CITY, State, (Month Day, Year) With 8 million homeless pets entering U.S. shelters every year, [ORGANIZATION] is helping to solve the problem with its Primp Your Pit (bull) spay/neuter promotion sponsored by PetSmart Charities. During [PROMOTION TIME PERIOD], [ORGANIZATION] will spay/neuter pit bulls for a special rate of $[X], including a free nail trim. Today, 35 percent of dogs and cats in U.S. households are not spayed or neutered yet the procedure is one of the most effective ways to reduce the homeless pet population. Pit bulls, in particular, end up in shelters in large numbers due to the myths and negative media and public perceptions that are associated with the breed. The Primp Your Pit (bull) promotion helps you and your dog, says [NAME, TITLE, ORGANIZATION]. Spaying/neutering a pet is the most effective thing a pet parent can take to prevent unwanted litters and ensure their pet lives a long, happy life. The American Veterinary Medical Association endorses spaying and neutering puppies as young as eight to 10 weeks old, and research shows that the procedure can improve the behavior and health of the pet, including reducing the risk of certain reproductive cancers and infections. In an effort to prevent unwanted litters of pit bulls, this special rate during the Primp Your Pit (bull) event applies to all residents of [COUNTY OR CITY]. Pit bull parents who wish to take advantage of this offer must mention the Primp Your Pit (bull) promotion when they schedule their appointment. The promotion is based on PetSmart Charities 7
availability. Please visit [WEBSITE] or call [NUMBER] for more information or to schedule an appointment. # # # About [YOUR ORGANIZATION] [INSERT YOUR BOILERPLATE LANGUAGE] About PetSmart Charities Established in 1994, PetSmart Charities, Inc. is an independent, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that creates and supports programs that save the lives of homeless pets, raise awareness of companion animal welfare issues and promote healthy relationships between people and pets. The largest funder of animal-welfare efforts in North America, PetSmart Charities has provided more than $165 million in grants and programs benefiting animal-welfare organizations and has helped save the lives of more than 5 million pets through its in-store adoption program. To learn more about how PetSmart Charities is working toward its vision of a lifelong, loving home for every pet, visit petsmartcharities.org or call 1-800-423- PETS (7387). PetSmart Charities 8