PHOENIX, 2016-Jul-20 — /EPR Retail News/ — On the tail of the record-setting box office launch weekend success of Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures’The Secret Life of Pets, PetSmart, the exclusive pet-specialty retailer for the film, is bringing to life the adventures of Max and his friends with a free, open-to-the-public event this Saturday, July 23, from noon until 4 p.m. local time in all stores across North America.
As the exclusive pet retailer for the film, PetSmart carries the exclusive The Secret Life of Pets pet product collection featuring a range of toys, beds and apparel. PetSmart worked with Illumination Entertainment and NBC Universal Brand Development to create an innovative multi-channel shopping experience where pets from the movie “take over” PetSmart stores, petsmart.com, social media and other digital channels in fun and engaging ways.
With the character store takeover, the in-store event on July 23 will feature a scavenger hunt event where fans will search via signage for The Secret Life of Pets main character Max. Kids can help find Max by using stickers to mark off treasure map clues with a little help from Max’s friends from the movie — Gidget, Buddy, Chloe, Leonard and more. Participants can find Max and earn a special prize* when they have all 10 stickers on their treasure map. The scavenger hunt also has a strong educational component to teach kids fun facts about various pets and pet care.
“Scavenger hunt type challenges and games have exploded in popularity, and we are pleased to bring this fun experience inspired by the lovable The Secret Life of Pets friends in our stores,” said Eran Cohen, Chief Customer Experience Officer, PetSmart. “With the characters everywhere in our stores, we know fans of all ages will have fun roaming and looking for their favorites from the movie and winning fun prizes.”
Kids will also receive character masks, coloring sheets and the first 30 kids that participate in the in-store celebration event will receive an additional special prize!* This in-store event will be held 12 – 4 p.m. local store time.** Attendees can learn more, RSVP and invite others using this Facebook eventhosted by PetSmart.
*All event giveaways available while supplies last.
**At participating PetSmart locations. Check your local store for availability.
About The Secret Life of Pets
For their fifth fully-animated feature-film collaboration, Illumination Entertainment and Universal Pictures present The Secret Life of Pets, a comedy about the lives our pets lead after we leave for work or school each day.
Comedy superstars Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, and Kevin Hart make their animated feature-film debuts in The Secret Life of Pets, which co-stars Jenny Slate, Ellie Kemper, Lake Bell, Dana Carvey, Hannibal Buress, Bobby Moynihan, Steve Coogan, and Albert Brooks. Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and his longtime collaborator Janet Healy produce the film directed by Chris Renaud (Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2), co-directed by Yarrow Cheney, and written by Cinco Paul & Ken Daurio and Brian Lynch. www.thesecretlifeofpets.com
About PetSmart®
PetSmart, Inc. is the largest specialty pet retailer of services and solutions for the lifetime needs of pets. At PetSmart, we love pets, and we believe pets make us better people. Every day with every connection, PetSmart’s passionate associates help bring pet parents closer to their pets so they can live more fulfilled lives. This mission impacts everything we do for our customers, the way we support our associates, and how we give back to our communities. We employ approximately 53,000 associates, operate 1,466 pet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and 203 in-store PetSmart® PetsHotel® dog and cat boarding facilities. PetSmart provides a broad range of competitively priced pet food and pet products and offers dog training, pet grooming, pet boarding, PetSmart Doggie Day Camp day care services and pet adoption services in-store. Our portfolio of digital resources for pet parents – including PetSmart.com, PetFoodDirect.com, Pet360.com and petMD.com – offers the most comprehensive online pet supplies and pet care information in the U.S. Through our in-store pet adoption partnership with independent nonprofit organizations, PetSmart Charities® and PetSmart Charities™ of Canada, PetSmart helps to save the lives of more than 500,000 homeless pets each year. In addition, PetSmart supports organizations that make communities a better place to call home through our philanthropy program, PetSmart Gives Back™. By giving back to the communities where we live and work, PetSmart not only celebrates the power of pets to enrich people’s lives—we live it.
Follow PetSmart on Twitter: @PetSmart
Find PetSmart on Facebook: www.facebook.com/PetSmart
See PetSmart on YouTube: www.YouTube.com/PetSmart
About Illumination Entertainment
Illumination Entertainment, founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007, is one of the entertainment industry’s leading producers of event animated films. Illumination, which has an exclusive financing and distribution partnership with Universal Pictures, is the creator of the hugely successful Despicable Mefranchise, which includes Minions, the second-highest-grossing animated film of all time, as well as Despicable Me 2, an Academy Award® nominee for Best Animated Feature of 2013. In all, Illumination’s films, which also include 2011’s Hop and 2012’s Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, have grossed more than $3.2 billion in worldwide box-office revenues and feature some of the world’s most renowned talent.
Upcoming films include Sing, starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Seth MacFarlane, Scarlett Johansson, John C. Reilly, Taron Egerton and Tori Kelly, which arrives in theaters in December 2016;Despicable Me 3, starring Steve Carell and Trey Parker, which is set for June 2017; and a newly-imagined version of Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Benedict Cumberbatch in the title role of The Grinch, that is set for November 2017. In addition, Minion Rush (800 million downloads) has become one of the world’s most popular apps, and Minion Mayhemattracts huge crowds at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood.
About NBCUniversal Brand Development
NBCUniversal Brand Development (NBCUBD) drives expansion of the company’s intellectual properties, franchises, characters and stories through innovative physical and digital products, kids and family content, and consumer experiences globally. Along with franchise brand management, NBCUBD includes three lines of business: NBCUniversal Consumer Products, Universal Kids & Family Productions, and NBCUniversal Games and Digital Products. NBCUniversal Brand Development is a business segment of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, and part of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.
Contacts:
Danielle Bickelmann
Golin for PetSmart
972-341-2503
dbickelmann@golin.com
PetSmart Media Line
623-587-2177
Source: PetSmart