As one of the Nation’s premier sporting events, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has been a staple for canine enthusiasts for more than a century. Boasting a historic reputation of prestige and elegance this event is loved by many, including the dog fancy, casual dog lovers and sports fans. The event showcases more than 200 dog breeds and allows spectators to cheer on the beloved show dogs as one is named Best In Show.
Through most of the event’s history, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show has been held in Manhattan, NY until the pandemic gave way for a new venue and change of season. Adapting to the social climate, 2021 marked the first time the Westminster Dog Show was held at the distinguished Lyndhurst Mansion. Once again this event returned to Lyndhurst in 2022 with an opportunity to expand and capitalize on this storied venue.
In 2022, our social strategy set out to:
Promote a “Back and Better Than Ever” campaign as the show returned to the Lyndhurst Mansion.
Execute a new on-the-ground coverage strategy, to bring fans real-time, behind-the-scenes content.
Collaborate with new and strategic partners to enhance the experience. Including, but not limited to: Westchester County Tourism, Lyndhurst Mansion, FOX Sports and Marcel The Shell with Shoes On (A24 Films).
Celebrate the companionship of dogs, responsible dog ownership, breed preservation, and introduce new “Hidden Gem” breeds.
GLOW and The Westminster Kennel Club have partnered together for nearly a decade, growing Westminster’s social footprint and enhancing the audience experience year after year. Despite the unexpected changes from the pandemic, our teams were as successful in adapting to the show’s postponement and continued to provide excellent coverage for the 2022 Dog Show. We were able to pivot and enhance our social strategy through advanced promotion, creative partnerships and fueled excitement for the return of spectators.
After the December 2021 announcement of the postponed January 2022 event, our strategy was to build anticipation for the summer show at Lyndhurst Mansion. The campaign kicked-off with a 12 Days of Holiday Giveaways social contest allowing fans from around the country to engage and win prizes for their dogs during the holidays. Following the contest, our social efforts built excitement toward the elegance of a summer show at Lyndhurst Mansion through historical facts and scenic visuals. We launched new initiatives with show sponsors to engage social audiences like the Westminster Veterinarian of the Year in Partnership with Trupanion campaign. Nominations were submitted around the country to put a spotlight on outstanding local vets. Our winner was selected via social media voting and then flown out to be the guest of honor at the Dog Show.
Heading into the 2022 Westminster Dog Show, our on-site team focused on capturing a plethora of behind-the-scenes content ranging from exclusive in-arena angles, breed featurettes and ready ring entrances full of beautifully groomed dogs. Additionally, we captured intimate moments and stories of handlers and dogs as they prepped for competition. This strategic tactic gave our audience an in-depth look at the entirety of the event, beyond just the broadcast, and gave a more holistic feel of the preparation required from all human and dog participants.
With a primary focus on video content to leverage social algorithms, we successfully captured hundreds of pieces of real-time content, for Instagram Stories, Reels, GIFs, and trendy TikToks. In order to capitalize on engagement and reach, we tapped into viral pet trends and audio to lure a diverse and young audience. This included producing Twitter Spaces with WKC and FOX Sports talent to highlight Westminster’s history, purpose-bred dog facts, and competition insights. We worked with partners to expand the show’s reach like A24 Films, allowing us to bring Marcel the Shell with Shoes On to Lyndhurst in conjunction with the movie’s world premiere.
The event was supported with 24/7 community management, live social sharing in unison with the FOX broadcast, and launching the annual #BestAtHomeContest for audiences at home to participate in and share content featuring their dogs.
The 2022 Westminster Dog Show officially wrapped by following the 146th Best in Show winner, a Bloodhound named Trumpet, around New York City for his winning debut. During the tour, we shared real-time social posts, all garnishing exceedingly high social traffic, as Trumpet made appearances on Good Morning America, visited the Empire State Building and indulged in the treats and love from New Yorkers.
We successfully spread awareness and reach about the 2022 Westminster Dog Show and engaged thousands of fans on the Westminster Kennel Club social accounts.
During the event week, Westminster’s organic social content received 30.4MM total impressions (+198.39% YoY), 1.69M engagements (+825.74% YoY), and 12.2M video views (+28.23% YoY)
Over the entire year, Westminster’s 2022 metrics achieved 2x Engagements, 3x Impressions, and 4x Video Views.
Westminster Instagram and TikTok accounts both surpassed 100K followers during the event—marking a 3rd year of double-digit % growth for both platforms.
Westminster’s Giphy channel received 500.3M GIF views during the event and now has 2B views to date.
Our Best in Show dog, Trumpet, was trending on Twitter at #11 in the U.S. on June 23, 2022 during his Best in Show Media Tour campaign
