Astro Offers 101 | Calendars, Program Options, Strategy, Design, Marketing, & More!

Astro Offers 101 | Calendars, Program Options, Strategy, Design, Marketing, & More!

Astro Offer General Guidelines

An Astro Offer is designed to be started and completed in one transaction. Meaning, the customer completes the "Buy" requirement and receives the reward in the same transaction.


Astro Offers has become the new industry standard for more than one reason:
  1. Astro Offers gives our brand partners the opportunity to share promotional programs with their independent retailers in a way that guarantees those deals are shared, as intended, with the consumer.
  2. Astro Offers is completely pay-to-play for our Brand Partners, with no upfront costs to build or launch a program.
  3. Astro only charges redemption fees when an Offer is redeemed by a consumer, making it a highly cost effective means to run a promotion.
  4. Astro Offers is 100% free for independent retailers to participate in. There are no membership costs or enrollment fees. Retailers who are subscribed to Astro Loyalty's Frequent Buyer platform have access to Offers included in their monthly membership. Retailers who have yet to subscribe to Astro Loyalty can activate a free Offers-Only Account after completing their free trial. 
  5. Active & Upcoming Astro Offers will appear on a brand's My Webpage Flyer along with links for Astro retailers to Enroll or non-Astro retailers to Learn More about Astro.
  6. Brands can choose where their Offers are available - Available to All, USA, Canada, State by State, Province by Province, or Retailer to Retailer.
  7. Brands can choose the distributors that will fulfill their Astro Offers. Or they can fulfill their Offers themselves, directly to the retailer.
  8. Brands can choose how long an Astro Offer is active - Which can be anywhere from 1-day, to 1-year. 
  9. Astro provides retailers with complimentary Astro Offer Shelf Talkers to print and put up in-store.
  10. Astro Retailers subscribed to the Astro Marketing Suite can access additional marketing assets in their Brand Image Library that brands upload via My Image Assets. These images can be downloaded, printed, posted to social media, and added to digital campaigns.
  11. Active Astro Offers will automatically appear on an Astro Retailer's consumer Mobile App and My Astro Landing Page so they can be easily shared with their customers. 
  12. Astro Offers have been known to generate an influx in product sales for both retailers and brands both while an Astro Offer is active and long after it's expired. 

Always check with your fulfillment partners and distributors to make sure they are equipped to credit your Offer Redemptions back to your retailers, especially if your Offer rewards Can SKUs, Bulk Items, or multiple free goods.

Don't hesitate to contact your Astro Account Manager with any questions.

Astro Offer Submission Policy

Starting January 1, 2024, Astro Offers must be submitted at least 60 days before their intended launch date. This policy ensures that our team has time to build, publish and announce the Offer a month before its start date, which gives our retailers the necessary time to enroll, purchase products, and market the Offer to their customers.

Astro does not accept late Astro Offer submissions. Retailers are most likely to miss enrolling in an Astro Offer entirely if it is published late. So the earlier you have your builds submitted to us, the better your chances for greater enrollment numbers. 

Astro Offers can be submitted via your Astro Program Portal. Instructions on the Astro Offer submission process can be found here.

Astro Offers Calendars

Our brand partners who submit a full calendar of Astro Offers for the upcoming year, or at least a calendar of Offers per quarter, are the most successful on the platform. Possessing an Astro Offers strategy for the forthcoming year affords you and your Astro Success Agent, the luxury of brainstorming additional retailer incentives, such as Retailer Buy-Ins, to support our retailer partners and ultimately get your products into the hands of the consumer! It's a win, win!

Please have your upcoming yearly calendar of Astro Offers submitted to Astro by November 1st of the current year. Please submit your 2024 Astro Offer Calendar by November 1, 2023.

Astro Offers Calendars are submitted directly to your Astro Account Manager for review.

Planning Your Calendar of Astro Offers

Creating a successful calendar of Astro Offers can help to boost a pet brand’s sales while providing customers with exceptional rewards. Astro Loyalty provides brands with the opportunity to create offers, such as free goods or dollar-off discounts, that customers can redeem within one sale transaction. 

When planning a calendar of Astro Offers for the upcoming year, it is important to consider the following: 

1. Target Audience: Understand the target audience for the brand and tailor the offers accordingly. Consider the age, location, spending habits, and interests of the target customer.

2. Offer Details: Determine the specifics of the offer, such as the type of product, the discount amount, and the redemption period. 

3. Timing: Consider when to release the offers. Consider the holidays that occur during each month. Setting a timeline for the offer can help to increase the rate of redemption.

4. Promotion: Promote the offer on your brand’s social media channels and website to ensure maximum exposure. Share your My Webpage Flyer so retailers can learn more about your upcoming Offers. If they like them, they can enroll via the flyer. If the retailer is new to Astro, they can follow the links on the flyer to get set up with Astro.

By following these steps, your brand can create a successful calendar of Astro Offers that provides customers with exceptional rewards. For more information on Astro Offers, visit https://www.astroloyalty.com/offers/, or reach out to your Astro Account Manager.

Target Audience

Are you hoping to attract new customers to your brand? Publishing an Astro Offer showcasing one of your strongest SKUs could be the bait needed to attract new customers, especially if it is paired with a marketing campaign designed to target those customers. 

Are you hoping to introduce your current customer base to other products in your line? You are able to create an Astro Offer that cross promotes two types of products. Many brands have started publishing Astro Offers such as, Buy a Large Bag of our Kibble and Get a Topper for FREE, which have been very successful. 

Offer Details

Determine the specifics of the offer, such as the type of product, the discount amount, and the redemption period. 

Type of Product - Are you promoting a new product launch? Cross-promoting to entice current customers to try some of the other products you offer? Are you trying to attract new customers to your brand? Discuss your goals with your Astro Brand Manager if you get stuck. 
Discount Amount - Astro Offers can be dollar-off discounts, or they can reward free goods. Consider the reward- is it enticing enough? Is it going to stop a customer in their tracks and trigger an impulse purchase? Take the duration of your Offer into account when determining the reward. Consider offering a higher reward than you would typically if the Offer is also a Flash Sale.
Redemption Period - Most Astro Offers run for a full calendar month. Others will run for several subsequent months (2 or more). While others, such as Flash Sales, run for short bursts (a couple of weeks or a couple of days). 

Dollars-Off Offers

Dollars-Off Offers are straight forward discounts on specific items. Ex. $5 Off Yummy Munchie Treats. In order to create this type of Offer for your brand we will need a SKU list of eligible items along with the specific $__ off discount for each item.

Pick Your Perk Dollars-Off Offers With Pick Your Perk, you can adjust the dollar-off amount dependent on size, formula, or another variant. For this type of Offer, the pet owner can choose the size item they prefer and get the discount associated with it.

Refer to the Naturally Fresh Offer pictured below - $2 Off All 10lb. Bags of Litter, $3 Off All 14lb. Bags of Litter, or $4 Off All 26lb. of Litter. In this case, the pet owner can choose between all formulas of litter within those listed size categories. 

Naturally Fresh | Dollars OFF Cat & Small Animal Litter
Naturally Fresh walnut-based Cat & Small Animal Litter provides the odor control your pet parents need while giving the added benefit of helping our planet. Six formulas.
Offer Valid: 04/01/2023 to 08/31/2023
 
Below is another great example of a Pick Your Perk Dollars-Off Offer by Earth Animal. In this Offer, the pet owners' choices are limited to specific formulas (Chicken, Turkey, From The Sea) and sizes (2lb or 8lb) of their Wisdom Air-Dried Kibble. 

Earth Animal | Dollars OFF Select Wisdom Air Dried Recipes
Earth Animal's Wisdom dog food offers a complete and balanced diet with high palatability, high nutrient density, and high digestibility.
Offer Valid: 06/01/2023 to 09/30/2023


BOGO & Free Good Offers

Free Good Offers reward just that, free goods. The general model is Buy X Get Y Free. The X and Y represent the Items being purchased and rewarded. 
Options for X and Y include:
  1. X = Y, ex. Buy 1 Can of Cat Food, Get 1 Can Free / Buy 3 Cans of Dog Food, Get 1 Free 
  2. X and Y are different, ex. Buy 1 Bag of Freeze-Dried, Get 1 Bone Broth for Free / Buy 1 Bag of Kibble, Get 2 Cans of Wet Food Free. 
Both or either the X or the Y can =1 or be <1. Ex. Buy 10 Get 4 Free / Buy 1 Get 1 Free / Buy 3 Get 1 Free / Buy 1 Get 2 Free.

Redbarn | Buy 10, Get 4 FREE on Chew-A-Bull Dental Bulk Items
Here's an example where both the buy-in and the reward are greater than one. 


Loyal-Luxe Offers Consider the pet owners who already know, trust, and love your brand. They are most likely already purchasing some of your essential products (complete diets) on a regular basis, but maybe they haven't tried some of your supplemental or luxe products. A popular BOGO formula that has gotten some considerable traction is where the X and Y are completely different. In this type of Offer you are rewarding a loyal pet owner with one type of product when the purchase another. This is a great way to introduce products such as Toppers, Mix-ins, or Treats to those who are already purchasing your complete diets. 

Below are some examples of this modified Loyal-Luxe BOGO Offer.

Fromm | FREE Cat Can with Purchase of Dry Cat Food
Fromm offers cats a variety of entrees to choose from, each carefully prepared in controlled batches at our family facility. With this deal, grab a free can of wet food to complete the meal!
Offer Valid: 08/01/2023 to 08/31/2023


Fussie Cat | Buy Dry Cat Food, Get 2 Puree Packs FREE
Fussie Cat recipes are formulated with your cat in mind. They are made with quality ingredients meaning that not only are they highly palatable, but they are also nutritious and well-balanced too!
Offer Valid: 09/01/2023 to 09/30/2023



Flash Sale vs. Standard Astro Offer

Astro Offer Flash Sales are high-value Offers only available for short bursts, such as a week or less—the best time to publish a Flash Sale is during a holiday. 


Pet House Candles | FREE Mini Candle with Purchase of Candle
Your home should be fresh, clean, and free of toxins. That's why every hand-poured 100% plant-based candle is dye, phthalates, paraben, and cruelty-free.
Offer Valid: 09/01/2023 to 09/04/2023



NaturVet | $3.00 OFF All Dog Products
NaturVet keeps your pets healthy with supplements for all needs. We've been making quality pet supplements since 1994 in Temecula, CA. All products have a 100% money back guarantee.
Offer Valid: 09/20/2023 to 09/27/2023



2023 Upcoming Flash Sale Opportunities. Act now!

  • September 23 is Neighborhood Pet Store Day. The deadline for submitting your Flash Sale for this holiday is August 23 (unless otherwise stated). 
  • Sept 24-30, 2023 is National Dog Week (Last full week in September). If your Neighborhood Pet Store Day Flash Sale is dog-specific, considering running it for the duration of National Dog Week!
  • October is Halloween! (Yes, all of October 😸) Whether you do a Flash Sale or not, publishing a themed-Offer with a corresponding festive Program Image for a fun holiday such as Halloween is a guarantee it will be shared on Astro's and our retailers' social media. 
  • November 24-27 is Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday weekend. In 2022, over Black Friday weekend, Astro Retailers collectively generated an additional $700,000 MSRP dollars for their stores! We strongly urge that you submit your Black Friday weekend Flash Sales by July 1st so they can be used as positive talking points at Superzoo.
  • January 1st, New Years! Offers that focus on building healthy habits and diets for the new year are always popular and mesh well with the New Years Resolution undertones.
  • This is just scratchi



Here are some resources for finding relatable pet holidays:
  1. Dog Tipper - https://www.dogtipper.com/fun/pet-holidays
  2. Astro Blog - https://www.astroloyalty.com/blog/ (2024 Pet Holiday Calendar post coming soon!)

Timing

Consider when to release the offers. Consider the holidays that occur during each month. Setting a timeline for the offer can help to increase the rate of redemption.

Take a moment and consult this list of Pet Holidays for 2023. Consider your brand, your products, the retailers who carry your products - make a note of the holidays that resonate with you and try to them your upcoming Offers around some of them. For instance, if you are predominantly a cat-brand, December is National Cat Lovers' Month!

We discourage publishing a split-month offer, ex. Dec 15 - Jan 15. Our retailers have grown accustomed to month-long or longer Astro Offers starting on the 1st so this is how they typically promote them to their customers. The only exception to this 1st of the month start recommendation is if your Astro Offer is a Flash Sale - Astro will make sure that your Flash Sale is highlighted to our retailers so they don't miss enrolling in them. 

Promotion

Promote the offer on your social media channels and website to ensure maximum exposure. Share your My Webpage Flyer so retailers can learn more about your upcoming Offers. If they like them, they can enroll via the flyer. If the retailer is new to Astro, they can follow the links on the flyer to get set up with Astro.

TIP: Holiday-Themed Offers, especially when the associated program image is festive, do really well when promoted on social media and in-store. Refer to the Flash Sale Program Images used as examples above.

Digital Promotion - Campaigns & Social Media
  1. Astro Retailers subscribed to the Astro Marketing Suite can access additional marketing assets in their Brand Image Library that brands upload via My Image Assets. These images can be downloaded, printed, posted to social media, and added to digital campaigns.
  2. Active Astro Offers will automatically appear on an Astro Retailer's consumer Mobile App and My Astro Landing Page so they can be easily shared with their customers. 
  3. If your Offer is holiday-themed, we will include it on additional promotional flyers pertaining to that holiday and share them with our retailers via our blog and social media.

In-Store Promotion
Astro provides retailers with complimentary Astro Offer Shelf Talkers to print and put up in-store.
You can upload additional high-resolution promotional shelf talker images to a retailer's Brand Media Library via My Image Assets. 

Designing Your Offer Image

Design is key, and greatly influences the success of your Astro Offer. Will it attract a retailer's attention while they are enrolling in their next month's Offers? Will it stop a pet owner while they're scrolling on their social feed? Will it stop a pet owner in their tracks while they are walking down an isle in their local pet shop? 

We highly recommend bringing in your marketing or promotion team and have them design your Astro Offer Program Images (this goes for all Astro Program images, from Frequent Buyer to 'Sharing The Love'). 

If you do not have a marketing team, we strongly recommend putting together a calendar of a full year of Astro Offers and hiring a freelance designer to create the images for you. This ensures consistency and gives you time to make sure those images are on-brand. 

If that doesn't sound like something that would interest you, we do have people on our team that can make Program Images for you for a fee, but you will only have one option to submit feedback for revisions. 

TIP: Refer to the Offer images shared above. These images include all of our requirements and then some. Remember, these images are shared on social media, included in My Webpage Flyers, attached to multi-media campaigns, and even printed and hung up in-store. They need to be eye-catching and clear to the pet owner.
  1. Details of the Offer ($__ Off, Sizes, Formulas, etc) are clearly mentioned.
  2. Eligible items are pictured.
  3. Your Brand's Logo is included.
  4. An "Astro Offers" or "Astro Loyalty" logo is clearly visible.
  5. BONUS! - Add additional details about your brand (ex. Naturally Fresh) and/or images of pets (ex. Earth Animal, NaturVet).
  6. BONUS! - Your Offer is themed after a fun holiday (ex. NaturVet).
For more info on best practices for creating an ideal program image for any type of program on Astro refer to: Creating an Ideal Program Image | Frequent Buyer, Astro Offers, & Sharing The Love