Veteran Marketer & Pet Journalist Team to Launch Tail Wag Media
Online, July 7, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Veteran Marketer & Pet Journalist Team to Launch Tail Wag Media
New York-based Firm Offers 'Best of Breed' in Pet Wellness and Pet Lifestyle PR/Marketing
They don't confess to be dog whisperers but they do know a lot of about dogs and other pets. The "they" are John Eccleston, a 28-year marketing veteran with two decades of pet PR experience, and Julia Szabo, former pet reporter for the New York Post and noted pet author and journalist. The two are combining their experience, expertise and passion for pets to form Tail Wag Media, which is based in New York (www.tailwagmedia.com).
According to Mr. Eccleston of Stony Point, principal and chief creative officer, and Ms. Szabo of New York City, principal and chief editorial director, Tail Wag Media offers "best of breed" pet wellness and pet lifestyle PR and marketing services for pet product and service companies and non-pet product marketers that want to reach consumers who own pets.
"There are a number of PR agencies that have human wellness practices, and a few that cater to general pet PR, but Tail Wag Media is the only agency for which we are aware to focus on the health and well being of pets and people living a pet lifestyle," said Mr. Eccleston.
Ms. Szabo said she first met Mr. Eccleston five years ago when she was at the Post and he pitched her about his client's Safe Paw ice melter, which he helped propel to the No. 1 selling pet-friendly ice melter and increase sales from $3 million to $12 million.
"John was very professional and a great representative of Safe Paw, and we stayed in touch over the years. He called me a few months ago about with an idea about starting a new pet-wellness focused agency, and, in his persuasive manner, convinced me to join him and I gave him an enthusiastic 'yes.' I suggested we expand our services to include the 'pet lifestyle,' which is something I have written about in articles and books, and it expands our services to non-pet product companies as well," said Ms. Szabo.
For the past 10 years Mr. Eccleston has operated the successful boutique firm OpenGate Marketing in which he will continue to have a hand in running while growing Tail Wag Media. Prior to starting OpenGate, Mr. Eccleston served as SVP/partner and chief creative officer for Earle Palmer Brown's PR practice, where he worked on Novartis Animal Health and Hill's Pet Nutrition among other non-pet clients. He has also worked on global brands such as Coca-Cola, Mars, Burger King, Wendy's, Beck's, US Trust, Band-Aid, Citibank, Avenue, Dressbarn and Party City, and is a veteran of agencies Cone, BEN Marketing and Burson-Marsteller.
Ms. Szabo's byline and biting commentary have appeared in the country's top magazines, newspapers, and online media outlets, from The New York Times to Family Circle, Reader's Digest to Cesar's Way. She is the author of six books, including the acclaimed "Animal House Style: Designing a Home to Share with Your Pets," and appears often on national and local TV and is a frequent guest of "Morning Living" on Sirius Radio's Martha Stewart Channel. Her daily column "Living with Dogs" on Dogster.com reaches two million readers. Ms. Szabo will continue with her media work in addition to her lead role in Tail Wag Media.
"The sign of happiness is a wagging tail," said Mr. Eccleston. "Our aim is to achieve this for our clients as we help build their brands and increase sales. Tail Wag Media will serve all sizes of clients, from Toy Poodle size companies and start-ups to Great Dane size global brand, and will nurture new-pup entrepreneurs and old line brands to keep them active and healthy."
Ms. Szabo added, "Tail Wag Media offers a powerful array of solutions to marketers. Our aim is to not only get target audiences to 'bite' on our clients' product information, but we want them to chew on it, take it home and come back begging for more."
Tail Wag Media is seeking clients that offer pets and pet owners products and services that promote pet wellness and healthy lifestyles, from over-the-counter and prescription pharmaceuticals to healthy, diet and healthy pet food and supplements to safety and prevention products and services. The agency offers a full range of services, from branding and packaging to product launches and PR support to special editorial features and social media strategies. For more information contact John Eccleston, at john@tailwagmedia.com and 845.353.2685, and visit www.tailwagmedia.com and on Facebook: Tail Wag Media http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Tail-Wag-Media.