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Purina Awards $50,000 to Dig – The Dog Person’s Dating App

Pet Age Staff//October 3, 2019//

Purina Awards $50,000 to Dig – The Dog Person’s Dating App

Pet Age Staff //October 3, 2019//

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Press release: Dig – The Dog Person’s Dating App

A dating app for dog-lovers finds love from pet industry leaders just in time for the start of “cuffing season.” Dig – The Dog Person’s Dating App, a New Orleans-based company, was awarded first place in a marketing competition at the inaugural Pet Care Innovation Summit powered by Purina at the Nestlé Purina North America Headquarters in St. Louis this week.

Dig secured a $50,000 cash prize for digital marketing support from Purina and Centro, a Chicago-based digital advertising agency, to launch an interactive campaign featuring real dogs and their single humans across the U.S.

“To dog lovers, there’s nothing more important than finding someone who loves dogs as much as you do and shares your dog-forward lifestyle,” said Casey Isaacson, chief creative officer and co-founder of Dig. “We’re ecstatic to have Purina’s support on a campaign that will feature real dogs and their single humans who have turned to Dig to find love.”

Dig is one of 22 startups in the Purina Pet Care Innovation Network, “an invite-only network for founders of scalable, high potential early stage companies.” Pet Care Innovation Network members receive access to business tools, educational opportunities and exclusive networking events like the Pet Care Innovation Summit at no cost courtesy of Purina, an industry leader in the pet space.

“Financial backing is important to any startup, but money alone won’t drive success,” said Bill Broun, co-lead of Purina’s 9 Square Ventures Division and vice president of personalization and business development at Purina, in Purina’s press release about the competition. “Having a network of support is key, and that is what we are providing with the Pet Care Innovation program at Purina.”

The Pet Care Innovation Summit is part of an ongoing effort by Purina and investing leaders, Active Capital, to support and connect with early-stage pet care startups addressing pet and pet owner needs in the areas of pet health and wellness, services, technology, nutrition and emerging innovations.

“This marketing prize couldn’t have come at a better time,” says Dig CEO and co-founder Leigh Isaacson. “We’re about to enter the most active time of year on dating apps, and we want to let all the dog-lovers know that there are like-minded, dog-loving singles ready to meet them and their pups on Dig.”

Cat-lovers were not forgotten, however! Basepaws pitched its way to a planned $125,000 investment from Purina at the event. The Los Angeles-based company sequences the DNA of cats and provides health and dietary recommendations to customers.

“We couldn’t be more proud to win this investment and thank you to Purina for supporting our mission in bringing the latest science to pet health & genetics,” said Basepaws CEO Anna Skaya. “This investment will help us learn more about feline genetics and how to best bring data-based nutrition into the feline market.”

Dig CEO Leigh Isaacson said, “It’s incredible to see industry leaders like Purina support companies like Dig and Basepaws. Together, we’re driving innovation so pets and pet lovers can live healthier, longer and more joyous lives with the humans who love them.”