Throw your dog a birthday party, complete with peanut-​flavor cake and pug-​sized party hats! C.R.Gibson (a consumer goods brand owned by CSS Industries, Inc.) felt the timing was right to introduce a product line aimed at people who want to celebrate their pets' birthdays in their homes and on social media. The current generation of pet owners isn't holding back when it comes to lavishing attention on pets, and they're especially aware of the Instagram appeal of a cute dog or cat wearing a birthday hat and tutu.

According to the market research firm Mintel, millennials focus on pets as they delay marriage and having children, and more people take photos of their pets than they do selfies [Canon 2016 Photography Trends Study].

Pet Owners make up a whopping 53.4% of U.S. adults, according to AudienceSCAN. About 27% of pet owners are under the age of 35.

"On Instagram alone there are nearly 200,000 posts with the hashtag #dogbirthday," said Rose Beck, CSS Industries' director of new product development. "We're in the business of helping people celebrate the special occasions in their lives, but up until now we totally neglected a really important member of the family: their pet."

According to AudienceSCAN, 38.3% of Pet Owners are active on Instagram and another 82.2% participate on Facebook. While many will choose to fill their feeds with pictures containing party supplies they bought from stores, this group is also a creative bunch that could be influenced to make their own decorations. This year, 15.9% plan to purchase craft or sewing supplies and 11.8% want to buy art supplies.

C.R. Gibson suggests that the products consumers need to throw an Instagram-​worthy pet celebration include things like birthday hats, dog bowls, treat cups, dog bandana bibs, table covers, cake toppers, "happy barkday" birthday banners, photo booth props and more.

Pet Owners can be advertised to through the very medium they'll be posting their pet birthday pictures on. Last year, according to AudienceSCAN, 49.3% took action after seeing an ad on social media. TV is another effective medium as 61.5% of Pet Owners took action after seeing a TV commercial within the last 12 months. And don't forget about search while Pet Owners are surfing the web looking for pet party supplies. Last year, sponsored search ads led 49.2% of pet owners to take action.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.