Spies sold holidays to pet owners by giving the pets their own vacation

Nearly half of Scandinavian pet owners had given up vacations because they didn't trust what would happen to their pets. Spies, a Scandinavian travel company, realized the barrier wasn't cost or time — it was the pet's wellbeing.

A survey of more than 4,000 pet owners showed 69% wanted their pet cared for by someone they knew and 68% wanted updates while away. So the campaign's answer, 'Dogcation', was a premium pet-care service won via a social-media competition, with a campaign video driving owners to a dedicated website.

The signature feature was 'The Long Distance Fetch': a digital throwing service that let the winner play fetch with their pet remotely, proving the pet was not just housed but happy. An interactive map of Scandinavian kennels gave every other owner a trusted care option, removing the excuse to stay home.

The campaign drew 11.7 million social views with a 75.7% average view duration, 33,000 visitors to the site, and sent over 8,300 people on Spies trips — DKK 50 million (€6.7 million) in additional sales and a 627% ROMI, winning Gold at Effie Denmark and Double Silver & Bronze at Effie Europe 2023.

Sell the pet's vacation, and the owner follows

The insight targeted the real barrier — pet wellbeing — instead of cheaper prices.

Remote fetch made the care solution emotional, demonstrable and shareable.

The competition created scarcity and earned media around a service that could have been a brochure item.

The kennel map converted even non-winners into travelers.

When the customer's blocker isn't price but care for someone else, sell the solution to that care: make the dependent (pet, parent, child) visibly happy, and the customer's own objection disappears.

Dogcation turned Spies into Denmark's most effective advertiser of 2023, with both Effie Denmark Golds and a Double Silver & Bronze at Effie Europe. The pet-care angle became part of Spies' product thinking, and the campaign was cited across the region as proof that a service innovation can be launched as a marketing moment rather than a product launch.