RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION

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Subject: Which are the roles of pets in the valuation of the brand?

Issues of the theme
The objective of this research contribution is to highlight the role of pets in the brand. We will see in this research what represent animals in brand strategy: a marketing target, a marketing medium to reach various targets (children, pet owners), a symbol representing the family world, the defense of a cause (the good treatment of animals).
In order to gather several points of view of the western countries I choose an international bibliography (books and articles) for this research, thus we could have a global vision of the subject: with testimonies of the specialists of the behavior of animals, studies of pet’s market, strategies of the majors brands, the regulations and the protective associations.

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BOOK
Les français et leurs animaux - Jean Pierre Digard - 1999
Jean-Pierre Digard is research manager of the CNRS (NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH) and charged with teaching at the University of Provence. How to explain the growing passion of the French for animals? Animals from more standard to original are concerned: from the dog to the lizard by way of crocodiles (new pets). However all the animals are not entitled to the same passion, the livestock (cow, sheep and chicken) are appreciated for being eaten or for their utility. Thanks to his book, the author explains us the incoherence of our behaviors with animals. This book is divided in three parts: "behaviors", "meanings" and "Problems". The first part defines us the subject (the taming and the pets) and explains us the phenomenon of pets in our society. The second part evokes the construction of the animal and owners. It explains us the signification of the behavior of this independent relation. Finally the third part explains the borderline between savage and domestic, misunderstandings, paradoxes and excesses of the passion of pets.

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ARTICLES
Animal