SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., July 21, 2008–DogTime Media (http://dogtimemedia.com), the country’s largest vertical media network focused exclusively on pets and pet enthusiasts, celebrates key milestones within its first year.
DogTime.com launched in October 2007, by a group of dog enthusiasts and seasoned Internet founders. The company’s mission to provide pet owners with expert advice and essential information to care for pets through all the stages of their lives, has propelled the company to the front of the pack. By sharing revenue and resources with a network of 142 pet sites across the Internet, DogTime Media recently was recognized as the #1 pet network in the market with 8.2 million unique visitors (comScore, May 2008).
“By pooling resources and services, the sites within the DogTime Media Network are able to better serve individual visitors and the pet community at large, resulting in more pet adoptions, fewer animals in shelters, and fewer dogs and cats euthanized every year,” said Trevor Wright, CEO of DogTime Media. “By aggregating the reach of these network sites we are also able to offer advertisers greater efficiencies and more accurate targeting of their core customers.”
INCREASING ADVERTISER VALUE
DogTime Media’s unique ability to provide both high ROI and deep brand engagement has attracted advertisers like Purina, Frontline, Meow Mix, AKC, Hill’s Science Diet, Bissell, Eureka, Harper Collins and Bush’s Baked Beans.
By distributing both original- and network-generated content to its publishing partners, along with traffic driving and revenue generating services, DogTime Media is able to help grow the publishers’ businesses and help them better serve their audiences of pet enthusiasts. These highly-engaged audiences provide a uniquely fertile environment for an increasingly wide variety of advertisers.
COMMITMENT TO PETS
Dedicated to improving the lives of pets and their owners, DogTime is committed to help reduce the large number of pets in shelters (5 to 7 million across the country each year, according to the ASPCA). DogTime has launched a number of valuable tools for consumers to adopt pets, including “Are you Ready?”–a quiz to help determine if someone is ready for dog adoption, or would be better off with a goldfish–and”Meet your Match”–an assessment to pair people with the right dog based on personality type.
May 2008 marked the launch of the Dunbar Training Center on DogTime.com, featuring everything pet owners need to know to raise a well-behaved dog. Created by experts Ian and Kelly Dunbar, noted behaviorists and trainers, the five-step program is the first of its kind. Each lesson, from House Training to Raising a Friendly Dog, is reinforced by a short video starring the Dunbar’s and their dogs, plus a quiz that encourages owners to test their progress.
COMPANY EXPANSION & MANAGEMENT
DogTime Media has grown from 7 to 17 employees in the past seven months. Its management team includes a range of talent and expertise from the Internet and media sectors, including:
CEO, Trevor Wright: Founder & President ViTrue, Inc., Founder & CEO Sharkle.com, 1st member Adify strategy team, Founder & CEO Black Bag Advertising, Founding Team SME Global Solutions, Original Member, Flycast Network.
- CTO, Andy Neuschatz: Founder & DTO GoCityKids.com (purchased by Viacom), Founding CT, BabyCenter (purchased by J&J), three Webby Awards.
- VP Design, Jonathan Tuttle: Founding designer at BabyCenter.com and GoCityKids.com with supporting roles at ParentsConnect.com and many more.
- VP Business Development, Maggie Canon: founding Exec Editor Glam.com, Editor-in-Chief: ComputerLife, InfoWorld, MacUser (Ziff Davis, IDG); VP Bus Development, MightyWords.com; Editor: America 24/7 (best-selling book series); 21st Century Home co-host (HGTV).
- VP of Marketing, Simon Tonner: Director of Marketing IDG Entertainment; Publisher GameDaily: Purchased by AOL; Director of Marketing Ziff-Davis Publishing; Show Director CMP.
- Director of Sales, Todd Donahue: Director of Business Development R/GA; Senior Sales Manager Media Sales, Warner Bros. Online and Meredith Interactive.
- Executive Chairman Rick Thompson: Founder Adify, Inc. (purchased by Cox Enterprises); Founder Signia Capital; Founder Flycast Network (IPO); Original member Octel (IPO).
To accommodate its growth, last month, DogTime relocated its corporate office to Maiden Lane in San Francisco.
COMPANY HIGHLIGHTS SINCE INCEPTION:
Network Size: No. 1 vertical media network
8.2 million unique page views monthly
142+ publishers
Advertisers: AKC, Animal Behavior College, Bissell, Bush’s Baked Beans, Eagle Pack, Eureka, Frontline, Harper Collins, Hill’s Science Diet, Meow Mix and Purina.
Employees:17
About DogTime:
DogTime Media (http://dogtimemedia.com) is the country’s largest vertical media network focused exclusively on pets and pet enthusiasts. DogTime Media reaches over 8 million highly engaged consumers via its network of more than 142 leading pet-focused websites and is anchored by DogTime.com (http://dogtime.com), the premier destination for dog people. DogTime Media actively supports the efforts of rescue groups and shelters nationwide to significantly reduce the number of homeless and neglected pets in the country. DogTime Media and DogTime are based in San Francisco, CA.
