Michigan 8th Annual “Pet-A-Palooza 8/09

“8^th Annual “Pet-A-Palooza” at The Palace of Auburn Hills Deemed a Success

 

In an attempt to find good homes for hundreds of homeless kittens, cats, puppies, dogs, rabbits and ferrets.  Metro Networks and Pet Supplies “Plus” sponsored “Pet-A-Palooza” at The Palace of Auburn Hills.  The event took place on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2, 2009.  The event included family and pet-oriented activities and attendees were encouraged to bring their pets to the event.” – opening paragraph from 2009 Pet-A-Palooza event, michpetapalooza.com website

The 29 participating adoption groups had 600 rescued animals on site and the event organizers were pleased to report that 402 animals found new homes.  Farmers was one of the 10 event partners/sponsors and ran a joint E.A.R.S. and m.i.l.k. tent.  Eleven (11) agents from 4 districts were involved in the event.  The participating agents ranged from Reserve Agent to 36-year Farmers veterans.  For over half of the agents this was their first time participating in an E.A.R.S. and/or m.i.l.k. event.  All of them loved meeting and working with agents from other districts on such an important project.

As we had many agents and multiple districts involved we developed a Participating Agent flyer which listed the basic contact information of all participating agent and their DMs (attached).  The Participating Agent flyers were very valuable to have as many new owners wanted their new adoption digitally IDed but a lot of the poor animals were still quite “shell shocked” from their pre-rescue ordeals.  Even as the new owners were walking them out, some of the dogs just coward to the ground, tails tucked, ears down, looking around trying to see where the next “hit” would come from or just in total confusion.  Most of the people who took the Participating Agent flyers said once they acclimated their animal to their families they would contact an agent for digital ID.  Several of the adoption groups also took the flyer.  A total of eighty-seven (87) flyers were distributed so there will be residual contacts.

Below are the final results from the Pet-A-Palooza event (vary slightly from preliminary as husband/wife, grandparent/parent completed duplicate contact cards):

4,500+ people attended

600 rescued animals on site

402 animals adopted

105 animals digitally IDed (104 dogs, 1 cat)

62 children digitally IDed

142 Home Organizer 3.0 software discs handed out to event attendees, rescue groups and sponsors

123 contact cards for 118 households

34 households requesting proposal for 108 insurance products

- 17 fire                                                       -    1 umbrella

- 16 auto                                                     -    1 specialty

- 9 life                                                          -    1 coverage review

- 6 FFS                                                        -    1 pet insurance

- 2 commercial

The agents received 3 invitations to future events and contact information from 20 organization interested in hosting future events.   We were also approached by LEEP (Law Enforcement Education Program) regarding the possibility of partnering, corporate wide, their Project Safekids Program with Farmers m.i.l.k. program and their S.O.S. (Students on Sobriety) Program with Farmers Wrecked educational program.

This event was a major collaborative effort between agents (listed on Participating Agent List), district managers (listed on Participating Agent List), State Office personnel (Cristyn Castelli PLGC), Imagery Concepts (Tom Quinn-CEO, Kim Dunlap-Executive Assistant), Metro Networks/Westwood One (Marie Skladd, National Account Manager), The Palace of Auburn Hills (Kristine Bergandino, Sales & Marketing Coordinator) and Joe Sowerby (Haines & Friends – Pet-A-Palooza founder).  It took 2 ½ months of collaboration to set up and coordinate the event and participants.  Joe Sowerby is very interested in Farmers having an E.A.R.S./m.i.l.k. tent at Haines & Friends Arizona Pet-A-Palooza in October (information forwarded to SEO Dan Schrock).

The agents took turns walking the vendor tents and events with E.A.R.S. and m.i.l.k. flyers – educating people about digital ID and directing them to our tent – and taking photographs of animals and children.  DM staff burned CDs and collected contact cards.  DM’s made equipment/supply runs and watched agent’s children so they could work the event.

I have received numerous requests for details regarding this event.  One of the questions posed to me was “Why did they (the agents) do it?”  The first-time event agents participated for two primary reasons:  leads or curiosity.  However, by the time each agent left, the original reasons for coming were mute.  The animals they saw in the rescue tents, the histories they heard about the some of the animals, hearing the event worker’s story of his 6-yr old niece being abducted by a former babysitter a week earlier and the helplessness the family had felt, the Guardians for Animals rescue group (one of the major animal rescue groups for Hurricanes Kitrina and Rita) talking about all of the animals that had been euthanized in the aftermath of the Hurricanes because they couldn’t locate the owners or adopt them out.  At the end of the day obtaining leads was just a perk.  Every first-time event agent said they will be participating in many more events and for the same reason prior-event agents participated in this one –

for the animals and for the children.

Roscoe Dog Park

ARIZONA FARMERS INSURANCE COMPANIES TO CONDUCT

First Ever EARS^® / m.i.l.k.^® Digital ID Event

Pet owners are urged to bring their pets and children for a FREE digital photo and FREE copy of the Home Organizer^® Software Program ($49.95 Value) featuring the m.i.l.k.^® Digital ID and EARS^® Digital ID

GOODYEAR, AZ—(November 12, 2008)—Farmers Insurance Group of Companies® invites all pet owners in and around Goodyear to bring their children and pets this Saturday, November 15, to Roscoe Dog Park.

“We want it to be the biggest m.i.l.k. / E.A.R.S. event ever,” said Farmers agent Scott Hoppa of Buckeye, Arizona. “A group of Farmers agents will man a specially-designed 36-foot Managing Information for Lost Kids (m.i.l.k.) / Electronic Animal Recovery System (EARS) mobile unit, the very first of its kind. We will photograph each pet and child and place the images on a CD-R which will be given to parents along with a copy of the Home Organizer software. Should a child or pet should go missing, the appropriate Digital ID created by Home Organizer can be forwarded to the proper authorities. The RV advertises the m.i.l.k and EARS program in pictures and words. It’s a reminder of Farmers’ commitment to keeping the kids and pets in Goodyear safe.”

What: Wag and Tag Event and Farmers E.A.R.S. and M.i.l.k program.

Where: Roscoe Dog Park, 15600 W Roeser Rd, Goodyear, AZ 85338 West of Estrella Parkway, South of MC85. This is a City sponsored event.

“All of us are committed to family safety, and want to do our part to keep children and pets as safe as possible,” Farmers agent Fabiola Arviso stated. “We are very fortunate to have the opportunity to provide this service to our community. This is one way parents can better protect their kids and pets, and with agent Scott Hoppa’s new RV unit – we’re hard to miss.”

,

Farmers Group, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zurich Financial Services, an insurance-based financial services provider with a global network of subsidiaries and offices in North America and Europe as well as in Asia Pacific, Latin America and other markets. Farmers® is the nation’s third-largest Personal Lines Property & Casualty insurance group. Property and casualty products are underwritten and issued by the Farmers Exchanges and their subsidiaries, which Farmers Group, Inc. manages but does not own. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Farmers insurers provide Homeowners, Auto, Business, Life insurance and financial services to more than 10 million households. For more information about Farmers, visit our Web site at www.farmers.com.

EARS

exhausting! :0)

Pets are way harder to photograph than kids! Much more squirmier!

I had a friend take photos of the event, we were mobbed, gave away 86 CDs, 24 of which asked for follow up on insurance….once she gets me the photos I will send to you!

Susanne Romo

Nebraska Humane Society Dog Walk

1. Sunday 9/27/08
   1. E.A.R.S. event
   2. Nebraska Humane Society Dog Walk
   3. $1,000 booth fee
   4. 128 cards filled out (128 discs)

i. 109 cards without interest

ii. 19 cards with interest

1.  
   1. 15% of cards marked interest in a Farmers product

Dave Carbaugh

September 01, 2008

Subject:  AN EARS SUCCESS STORY

One of my first MILK events was at a little community park in my
neighborhood. From that MILK event I met the community director of Baby’s R Us, who has had us into her store every month on the 2nd Sat for the past year.  I also met the Adoption Counselor of the Chula Vista Animal Shelter, took her out for coffee, talked to her about protecting the animals in the community. She invited me to attend the PetFest and Doggie Dash EARS event, which was a wonderful success… …and she invited me to talk to the manager of the local Petco for a birthday party Petco was throwing, to do my EARS booth.  I sent the EARS flyer to the Petco manager as she needed to get corporate approval before having us in. 

Once we were approved, she asked me for 500 of my EARS flyers, which she
passed out (with my picture and office info) to every client who came to the
store.  The flyers were gone faster than we expected, and more had to be
printed!  Talk about amazing advertising and endorsement!

Labor Day Sunday myself, Joaquin Lopez and Alex worked from 11 am to 3 pm at
the Eastlake Petco, ID’ing both pets and children for the PetcoEastlake’s 1
year birthday party!

One of the proudest moments in my Farmers career happened that day.  A woman
who was volunteering in another Pet-sponsored rescue booth at the event came
up and said…

“I’m a Farmers client, and I lost my home in the Deerhorn Valley Fire.
Farmers was there first, gave me money to live somewhere else, found me a
home to rent while my home is being rebuilt….I tell everyone in my neighborhood
that they need to become Farmers clients.  Many of my friends were with
(other companies) and have actually been canceled as soon as their claim was paid!

They have asked me if Farmers has canceled me, and I said no, of course
not! I love Farmers.  Farmers was there for me when I needed them.”

This was said in front of an entire crowd of people at Petco. 

At our booth, we were MOBBED as usual! Some people came up and said “You
took my dog’s photo at PetFest, it’s great to see you here too!” We are getting
known in the Chula Vista community as the company that cares! And here is the response that the manager of the Petco had for us…looks like we’ve potentially opened the door to all other Farmers agents to Petco!
BOTTOM LINE…MILK AND EARS WORKS.

Susanne Romo

E.A.R.S Tails N Trails

    

Hi Tom,

I think EARS may be a hit! 

As you know, on Sunday I was one of the sponsors for our annual “Tails N Trails” pet walk to raise money for the local humane society.  We set up our booth with our Digital ID for Pets banner, our digital camera and CD burner.  We set up just as we do for our milk events only the kids were replaced with dogs.  What a time we had! For a little over an hour we were having people fill out a contact card, have their dog or dogs picture(s) taken and then gave them the picture and the Home Organizer Software.  We were so busy that we didn’t have much time to visit to explain the software so I promised all of them a call (which I do anyway!) to follow up with them on how to load it and find that pet form.  In that hour and 15 minutes we had 40 people fill out contact cards and took over 100 pictures of dogs.  Once again (just as we have found for milk) people were so thankful for our service and our willingness to go out and provide something of value to them.  That is what it is all about, providing value.  I now have 40 people to talk to that I wouldn’t have had if I had stayed home and watched football!

Once again, my hat is off to you, Tom.  You have helped me get out in front of people in a non-threatening way that I can benefit from and provide a service that people like.  The banners are awesome and your willingness to supplement the ideas is incredible.

I have attached some pictures for you.  Thanks again for everything!

Kim

Kim Mittelstadt

E.A.R.S. Event in Omaha

    

 

     Hi Tom,

You can imagine how well an event might be if you start off by taking pictures of ducks and chickens at a “pet walk”…

Just kidding.  The EARS event in Omaha was awesome, once again.  Many people were very appreciative of the program and thanked us for what we were doing.  Dave has a ton of contact cards to follow up on in the next couple of weeks.  As you can see from the pictures we talked with a lot of people and made some great networking contacts.

Thanks again for all you do!
Kim

Kim Mittelstadt