Friskies: iPad Games for Cats

Objective

Friskies (Nestlé Purina) aimed to create innovative digital entertainment experiences for cat owners and capitalize on the emerging tablet gaming trend. The campaign positioned the brand as a pet-centric innovator, driving consumer engagement and brand affinity while ultimately supporting product sales growth in the competitive pet food category.

Solution

The campaign developed three interactive games—Cat Fishing, Tasty Treasure Hunt, and Party Mix-Up—specifically designed based on feline behavioral research. Games featured bright colors and animated movements to trigger cats' hunting instincts while deliberately avoiding sound that could distract them. Available on iPad and Android via gamesforcats.com, the initiative expanded with a competitive component (You vs. Cat, launched March 2012) where cats scored points against human players. User-generated video content was encouraged and aggregated on youvscat.com, creating a viral engagement driver.

Results

The Friskies iPad Games campaign accumulated 500,000 downloads and inspired approximately 300,000 user-submitted videos. In competitive gameplay, cats scored 5.3 million points versus 4.6 million for humans. Pet food category sales reached $2.7 billion in Q1 2012, representing a 7.7% year-over-year increase.