PET SPEAKER MARKET
RESEARCH RESULTS

A Preliminary Research Study on

the Market for the Petspeaker

The growing trend of people who closely bond with their pets, treat them like family members, and become like “pet parents” suggests a great potential for a product like the PetSpeaker that enables people to understand what their pets are saying.  A preliminary research study conducted by GJ&E Advertising suggests this, too.   You can see more details about the design of the PetSpeaker, including photos and a PowerPoint presentation, at www.petspeaker.com.

The research was conducted in the San Francisco Bay Area with a sampling of individuals from a wide range of age groups from 16 to 65 with varied occupation backgrounds, including a pet shop owner, veterinary clinic employee, hair salon owner and four employees, office workers, a mortgage broker, banker, housewife, and several students.  It included individuals with different racial and ethnic backgrounds, including a few respondents who were Hispanic, Asian, and African-American. 

                           

The respondents were contacted through intercept street surveys and by contacting people in their place of employment. Although the initial sample included only 20 individuals, the responses were almost unanimously positive in supporting the product concept and in selecting the two names chosen for the product from a group of names. Subsequent surveys underway with a large group of interviewees about their most preferred benefits, ad copy, pricing, and expected usage patterns confirm these initial results.  You can see a copy of the two questionnaires used in the original research – an initial questionnaire and a revised one based on the first responses, too.  Just go to Questionnaire 1 or 2. 

The initial reaction of the respondents was strongly favorable, when the product was described as a new product that “enables people to understand what their pet dogs and cats are saying to them by translating these sounds into English or any other language.  Friends, family members, and others can listen in, too.”  

           
            The respondents were also briefly advised how the product would work with this description:

“This product is powered by a revolutionary scientific breakthrough – an embedded chip technology placed in a collar, pet tag, belt, chain, leash, or clip-on device.  This chip is programmed to turn these sounds into words you can understand.  Then, it transmits and amplifies these words through a small receiver you can carry with you or through a speaker in a room so everyone can hear.”

   All of the respondents either indicated that they wanted to get the product for themselves (90%) or thought that others would be interested, even if they weren’t because they didn’t own a pet (10%).  Some of the comments which show this highly positive reaction, when people were asked their reactions to the product concept and what they liked about it, were the following: 

“Wonderful!…I’d like to hear what my pet has to say.” 

“I like it a lot…I like the idea of better understanding my pet.” 

“It’s wonderful…I like it because it’s a fantastic idea.”

“It’s a million dollar idea…Then there’s no language barrier between people and animals. And you could turn it off when you want.” 

         Both male and female dog and cat owners of all different backgrounds -- from teenagers to seniors over 65 and from different occupation groups -- expressed a strong interest in knowing more about their pet’s thoughts, feelings, wants, and needs.  Some typical comments: 

“I think it’s a great idea.  I have three dogs, so it would be useful to know what they have to say, and I would like to purchase this, if it is available.  (male dog owner, waiter in his 20s). 

“Great!…I’d like to know what my pet thinks or feels.” (male dog owner, salon owner in his 50s) 

“It’s perfect.  I’d like to know the truth of my dog.”  (Spanish-speaking male dog owner, retired, 64). 

“Great!…I’d like to be able to tell what my cat is thinking when she looks at me…I could know if she’s hungry, hurt, what she thinks of me.” (female cat owner, hairdresser, in her 20s) 

“It’s incredible…I like it because I want to know what my cat thinks about me and its needs.” (Spanish-speaking female cat owner, administrative assistant, 19) 

“It would be nice to know what my pet is thinking.” (male cat owner, student in his 20s). 

“It’s cool…Just to be able to understand your pet is great.  I’d like to know how my pet loves me.” (male cat owner, student, teenager) 

         The main concern which a few people expressed was “Would it work?” or “Is this believable? Can it actually be done?”, because people aren’t familiar with this new technology. But when assured that the PetSpeaker’s translation of their pet’s sounds to words was indeed technologically possible, they were very enthusiastic and eager to buy the product when it came out.   Some typical comments were these: 

           “It sounds good if it works.”

     “It sounds great, but impossible.  I don’t know if it would work.  How about a demo.”

           “It’s almost unbelievable, but I like it.  Wow!!!!!” 

Thus, the preliminary research results suggest a strong market for the PetSpeaker, although people need to have some reassurance that it works, such as with a demonstration to show it in operation and/or an explanation of how the new technology today makes the product possible. 

         There was also a very positive response to two of the names proposed for the product – PetSpeaker and PetTalker – and people had no alternative suggestions, which led to choosing these two names for PetSpeaker’s two product lines.   People liked the names because they conveyed very clearly what the products enabled people to do – listen to their pets speak or talk to them.   In fact, many respondents had trouble choosing between the two names, and they only chose one over the other when forced to choose. 

         However, their reasons the respondents gave for preferring one name over the other contributed to selecting the “PetSpeaker” name for the more sophisticated communication system and the “PetTalker” name for the novelty line of products.  Those who chose “PetSpeaker” thought it “sounded more professional” or thought it “conveys the meaning better”, because the name suggested that the pet sounds might be heard through a speaker system.   As one woman commented: “I think Pet Speaker suggests an amplifier.”  Another said: “I think of a pet speaking.”  By contrast, those who preferred “PetTalker” emphasized that they liked the way the words sounded together.   As one stated: “I like the sound of the two words together.”   Another remarked: “It just sounds better.”   Thus, since the respondents liked the name “PetSpeaker” especially because of its meaning and “PetTalker” especially because of the way it sounded, it seemed reasonable to associate “PetSpeaker” with the more sophisticated communication system and “PetTalker” with the novelty product line. 

         Finally, the preliminary research suggested that not only would people be interested in getting the PetSpeaker system in its most basic form – an embedded chip in a pet collar or tag, but some were interested in a line of specialty “Designer Pet Tags”, which are a type of pet jewelry.  While half of the respondents liked the basic collar or tag, half liked different types of jewelry items, which included pendants with different designs, a gold chain, and a decorated collar design.  The appeal of this designer line was especially strong for the female respondents, perhaps because jewelry is a product that appeals more to women generally. The illustrations which had the strongest response are featured on the following page.   

Though the images used in the research study were not meant to be the final designs, they suggest the strong appeal of a designer line of PetSpeaker tags and collars that build on the basic product concept.