Why a pet food company went all-in on the Olympics and Paralympics

Athletes are known for being meticulous about their health, whether that’s counting calories, tracking macros, or skipping spirits. Some are just as diligent about their pets’ diets—at least according to pet food company Nulo’s latest Olympics campaign.

The brand, which was founded by dog dad and former competitive swimmer and biomedical engineer Michael Landa, has been working with athletes for more than a decade, and it found success on the Olympic stage in Paris. While Nulo wasn’t an official sponsor, its work with athletes leading up to the 2024 Games led to growth in sales volume, search, and site visits, according to the company.

In the wake of those results, Landa, who also serves as CEO, said he doubled down on Olympics marketing, inking official deals with teams, signing more athletes, and increasing spend on the Games heading into Milano Cortina with the intention of further improving sales, awareness, and sentiment.

“We [were] driving new traffic, and we were continuing to grow in a really tough environment, so that led me to say, ‘Look, we have another opportunity here at Milan,’” Landa told Marketing Brew. “We were even that much smarter than we were before Paris now, in terms of optimizing these channels and these investments, so I’m expecting even better results.”

Emotional support

The first athlete to open Landa’s eyes to the potential of sports partnerships was gold-medal swimmer Aaron Peirsol. The two swam together in 2013, Landa told us, which was right around the time Peirsol got a dog and asked Landa for his advice on what to feed him.

“I started going into the whole science, and he just literally was like, ‘Stop, that’s how I think about food for myself, so I want the same for [my dog],’” Landa said. “It was just kind of an aha moment. Athletes really understand the importance of nutrition as it relates to their own performance, and they want the same for their pets.”

Over the years, Nulo has worked with more than 30 Olympic athletes, including Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and Gabby Thomas. For many years, the messaging of those campaigns centered around fueling pets, but around 2024, amid a broader mental health revolution in sports, Landa said he “decided to open up the positioning of the campaign” to focus more on how pets often serve as the unsung heroes in athletes’ lives.

Nulo isn’t the only brand to tap into athletes’ relationships with their animals: In a recent campaign with Lindsey Vonn, medical apparel company Figs shows Vonn’s dog, Leo, providing “emotional support” on her medical team.

Nulo’s Paris 2024 campaign, which featured eight athletes, resulted in a 17% increase in Google searches and a 21% bump in site visits after one of them won a gold medal, according to the company. Nulo also saw about a 3x return on that investment, Landa told us, with sales lift continuing for months after the Games.

Bundle up, double down

When it came time for this year’s Winter Olympics and Paralympics, Landa and his team were ready to run it back, with some adjustments. In September, Nulo was announced as the official pet nutrition partner of Team Canada, and in October, the brand became the official pet food of US Figure Skating.

Landa said he increased spending by between 10% to 15% from Paris to Milano Cortina and allocated more budget toward digital, CTV, and paid social. It’s too early to say if that move will pay off, but the International Olympic Committee already announced “unprecedented digital engagement” for this year’s Games. Social media has become increasingly crucial to Olympic campaigns, especially since Paris became known as “the social media Olympics,” and Nulo’s marketing plan is no exception.

“It tends to be the most authentic channel,” Landa said. “We can push things at people on CTV, but the most authentic thing is to engage in conversation.”

The Nulo team aimed to tap likely medal winners this year, Landa said, given the brand boosts associated with those wins last Games. The company’s Milano Cortina campaign featured athletes including ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who won a team gold medal and an individual silver medal, skier Alex Ferreira, who won gold in the men’s halfpipe, and speed skater Jordan Stolz, who won two gold medals and one silver.

The brand also has plans for the upcoming Paralympics, including digital, social, and CTV ads featuring three-time Paralympic gold medalist snowboarder Brenna Huckaby and her cat, Mouse. With the Team Canada deal set to last through LA28, Landa said Nulo will have a presence there as well, and it will probably be even bigger than this year’s, as the brand works to expand into countries including Europe, Spain, Mexico, and the Netherlands.

As for Team USA, “I certainly hope that that’s going to be on our radar coming up,” he said.