The term fur baby has become shorthand for a complex of concepts. A key aspect of the fur baby phenomenon is that pets have become surrogate children, as opposed to living mouse traps, sheep protectors or pests. All over the world, people increasingly consider pets as part of their family. More than just companionship, pets can be the preferred family member for some. For example, I occasionally receive press releases about survey results suggesting that people would rather be stranded on a desert island with their pet or that parents care more about their fur babies rather than their own flesh-and-blood offspring. Other surveys suggest that people care more about what their pets eat than their own diets.
The humanization of these pets fueled the premiumization of pet food. As pet population growth slows or declines in some developed economies, including the US, premiumization has become a key driver of revenue growth. Rising prices offset the increasing profitability of pet food as people turn to smaller dogs and cats. Pet food marketers have certainly noticed the trend of premiumization and encouraging viewing of pets as people.
“…if pets are an extension of us, spending on your pet can be worth spending on yourself.”
Perhaps this view of pets as fur babies is off the mark. Perhaps pets serve as extensions of the self rather than members of the extended family. A blog on Marketing Made Clear explores this idea. Blog author Will Green, director of sales and marketing at pet food brand Paleo Ridge, examines dog ownership through the lens of the psychological concept of the extended self.
Like the sayings that “the clothes make the man” or that “the things we own own us,” the expanded self-concept holds that individuals view themselves as the gestalt of certain objects, people and environments that the individual part feels. of themselves.
Consumer behavior researcher Russell Belk developed the extended-self concept in the late 1980s, building on the foundation laid by William James a century earlier. Belk posits that people partially define themselves by their possessions and other external objects, people and locations.
Pets as part of people
“The expanded self-construal sees certain possessions and certain other people as part of us,” Belk writes in Current Opinion in Psychology. “They expand our identity beyond just our mind and body. When they are damaged, killed, or lost, we feel their loss as self-injury… Self-expansion is easily seen with tools, instruments music, and weapons that literally expand our abilities. But it’s also the case that self-expressive clothing, cars, homes and home decor, the places we frequent, the people we know, and the books we read are also a part of ourselves.”
Green added dogs to Belk’s list of items and creatures that people feel as part of themselves.
I would go a step further and say that most pets can be extensions of the self. Dogs, cats and other pets can be status symbols meant to represent oneself in the world, just like the joke that people tend to be like their pets. Individuals may purchase trendy dog breeds, such as Labradoodles, as a means of conspicuous consumption. On the other hand, a person can adopt a pound puppy mutt or get a grumpy wild cat to represent their own ethos. A person with a pet python may feel that they are just as unconventional as their reptile companion. An exotic pet can reinforce a person’s unique identity with themselves and the world. Pet ownership also leads to lifestyles that serve as extensions of ourselves. Purebred dog owners can join a kennel club that reinforces their sense of elite pet ownership. For others, dog parks become a location where pet owners feel both ownership of space and self-definition. For python parents, reptile shows can be places where they feel welcome and part of a community that defines who they are.
If pets are more fur egos than fur babies, how does this affect effective marketing? Green points out vegan and other diet options pet owners can choose for themselves and their pets. Even for obligate carnivores like cats, vegan pet owners can request that pet food formulators formulate balanced diets for cats without any animal products. Pet owners may feel that what is ethical for them is also ethical for their pet.
Scientists have observed this extension of pet owners’ selves into their pets. A study published in the journal Asian Social Science examined the extended-self concept as applied to dog product purchases in Malaysia.
“Dog owners who view their dogs as an extension of themselves, make purchasing decisions as if they were buying and acquiring these products and services for themselves,” wrote the owners of study author.
Another study looked at pet owners’ extensions of themselves to their pets when purchasing stylish clothing for their pets.
“Pet brand retailers using property messages may result in consumers being willing to pay more,” the study’s authors wrote in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. “This supports Belk’s proposition that if pets are an extension of us, then spending on one’s pet can equal spending on oneself.”
However, I doubt people will start referring to their pets as fur egos, instead of fur babies. Pet owners probably feel better about pampering a pretend child than extending their own. Selfishness is frowned upon, while generosity to children tends to be praised. However, even if people call them fur babies, they may be psychologically babying a projection of their own psyches.
