by Kiara Ashanti
If you were to think of Microsoft inking a sponsorship or advertising deal, you’d probably envision them signing onto a major sporting event or collaborating with a large technology firm. Microsoft, after all, is an industry giant. But Rodney Dorival, owner of Big Paws, Little Claws, a Manhattan-based dog walking service, is proving once again that it’s possible for the little guy to swim with the big fish. He’s partnered with Microsoft’s search engine, Bing, on a campaign that runs through August.
“This shows that you can have a little company, a good idea and then walk into corporate America and make it happen,” said Dorival. “Bing loved our idea instantly.” Dorival’s company has been operating since 2007. He started it up after working part-time as a dog walker for a friend. It didn’t take long for him to move from part-time to full-time and start entertaining the idea of working for himself. “Many of my clients were really on my back to start my own business,” he said. “They were encouraging, as were my friends, but my mother really supported the idea and pushed me toward that direction.”
It’s a direction that Dorival certainly did not see himself in ten years ago. A graduate of Maxwell Vocational High School in Brooklyn, he began studying sound engineering at Jambox Studios. “I have a passion for hip-hop, so like many kids I thought about getting into the music business.”
Setting up a studio at home, Dorival began working with singers and rappers looking to cut demo tapes. “It worked for a while but I was just not fulfilled,” he explained. Leaving music behind, Dorival spent a few years at a New York marketing firm before cutbacks forced his resignation.
“After 9/11 advertising dollars began to dry up and the company could only keep me or the friend that had gotten me the job to begin with. He had been there longer and had gotten me the job, so I felt that it was only right that I resign.”
Given such loyalty to a friend, it is poetic that another friend would give him the part-time job that would lead to his greatest success. “I started first because I needed to bring in some income, but after a year I felt I had found my niche.”
Dorival built up a client base before starting Big Paws, Little Claws. At first he worked alone, serving 20 clients. Within a year he had a part-time walker, and later, a full-time employee. Today his staff fluctuates between two and six people. He has also expanded his service base, offering more than just dog and cat walking. “My vision is to really be a pet concierge service. We can help pet owners with anything they need: vet appointments, picking up their food, grooming appointments, anything they need at all. We work with dogs, cats, lizards, and birds.”
Working from 6am to 11pm, Dorival has focused his efforts on serving Manhattan’s financial district. The location seems a perfect fit, as people with disposable income are more inclined to pay for services they could provide themselves. But it’s not just the wealth of a clientele short on free time that makes the location great. Low on automobile traffic, Wall Street leaves a lot of room for dog walking. The pedestrians are mostly workers in a hurry, but there are also tourists taking their time as they navigate the neighborhood. It was these tourists that led Dorival to his epiphany.
“On a daily basis we are stopped very frequently,” he said. “People ask us for directions and the best restaurants to go to. Tourists would come up to us all the time to pet the dogs and take pictures with them. Finally, it struck me that dog walkers are walking billboards and street teams. I thought it would be cool if I could help promote a great product.”
Originally, Dorival thought he would end up helping to promote a local business, but after using Bing to help pick out his own dog he decided to approach them first. “I have a friend that works for the company, and he put me in touch with the right people. They were on board instantly, within 20 minutes.”
It’s a testament to the power of a great idea. The campaign has a two-pronged promotional strategy. The first specifies that the walkers wear co-branded T-shirts while on duty. Anyone that comes to pet or take a picture with the pets will be told about Bing. The second is direct marketing to Dorival’s clients. Walkers will leave a “battle card” outlining Bing’s pet-related services for clients. Simple, personal, sophisticated and hopefully, effective.
The partnership with Bing was a big enough deal to land Dorival on the CBS Early Show. “I couldn’t believe I was on the morning show. I couldn’t believe it. I mean, I walk dogs.”
Dorival is humble about his success, but it’s obvious that he has a keen marketing mind and eye for additional income opportunities. Aside from working with Bing, he’s also partnering with Glassy Baby, a high-end carved glass retailer. It is a collaboration that feeds directly into his target market of high-income families and the ultimate in double leverage. Even as Dorival and his walkers will be working to help promote Glassy’s retail outlets, many of the glassmaker’s clients are the perfect fit for Big Paws, Little Claws. That campaign will run June through September.
In addition to gathering additional sponsorships, Dorival has been speaking to hotels about offering pet concierge services. But whatever lies ahead, Dorival refuses to lose sight of his core function as a caretaker.“Pets are a part of people’s family. They love them, and spoil them. That’s why we try to be more than just a walking service. We are more of a concierge service. We take care of their pets as if they were our own.”
Taking good care of your customers may be an old school philosophy, but it’s still one that works. Even as the economy limps toward its recovery, Big Paws, Little Claws is determined to not lose its footing. “Our business is actually up right now. Our clients have disposable income, and they are going to spend money on lifestyle choices and their pets.”
