The Animal Marketing Podcast, Episode 2: Kim Van Syoc and Banfield Pet Hospital
In this week’s episode of The Animal Marketing Podcast, Anna sat down with Kim Van Syoc from Banfield Pet Hospital and the Banfield Foundation to discuss how organizations can have an impact beyond their local community during a natural disaster. How can companies use marketing and communications to amplify their disaster response work to benefit our main constituents--the animals and pets?
Kim has multiple roles at Banfield: she is the Director of External Communications for Banfield Pet Hospital, where she ensures positive corporate social responsibility and strong communication between Banfield Pet Hospital and its key stakeholders, consumers, and Banfield associates (employees). She also serves as the Executive Director of the Banfield Foundation, which largely involves grantmaking and giving back to pets in need in communities. Finally, she’s the President of the Banfield Better Together Fund, which is an associate relief fund created about two years ago to provide support for Banfield Associates who have been impacted by disasters.
Some of the conversation points covered in today’s podcast are as follows:
The importance of corporate responsibility
The necessity of measurability as associates, key stakeholders, pet owners, and consumers are demanding transparency and authenticity from the companies they are associated with
The immediate impact of Hurricane Harvey on Houston, Texas and how Banfield Pet Hospitals, Banfield Foundation, and Banfield Better Together Fund worked together to provide the best possible care to its constituents
Banfield’s response to other natural disasters like Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico
After hearing the passion behind Kim’s experiences, one thing is clear about Banfield: their work is driven by their desire to do good by its community, its clients, and its associates. These three groups are the most critical pillars of the Banfield foundation, so the priority is always serving them to the best of their ability. Banfield’s desire to do good, whether it be by providing free care to animals during a natural disaster or by providing disaster relief grants to associates who have been impacted by natural disasters, has laid the foundation for its success as a business. Corporate responsibility is one of Kim Van Syoc’s primary roles as Director of External Communications, and Banfield is successful because they are taking real action to help all people and their furry companions.
If you would like to learn more about Banfield Pet Hospital, you can visit banfield.com or banfieldfoundation.org. For more information on Banfield and its disaster relief efforts, you can visit banfieldfoundation.org/disaster.
You can listen to the full Animal Marketing Podcast here. Stay tuned for our upcoming episodes with leaders from the Oregon Zoo, VCA and Blue Dog Bakery.