Finally, somebody has applied modern technology to the tired old dog dish.
Retired Tucson advertising executive Jay Taylor, 69 and always brimming with ideas, has come up with a "talking" dog bowl to keep Fido company while master is away.
To make the "Chatterbowl," a standard dog bowl is fitted with a small window that allows a photocell to detect a change in light, such as a pet nose entering bowl space. That triggers a recorded message from a voice box attached under the bowl. The pet owner can record up to 10 seconds of soothing words for a pet to ponder at chow time.
It's more than just an idea. Taylor has guided it to production and launch. The Chatterbowl hit cable TV in Dallas and Houston last week to test the waters.
More markets, including Tucson, will hear about the product in the next few weeks.
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Everybody who sees it in person wants one, Taylor says. "The plumber came over the other day, saw this strange-looking pet bowl on my desk and said, 'I need two of them for Christmas,' " Taylor says.
"The most frequent comment I hear is, 'Why didn't I think of that?' " he adds.
Taylor has some experience in promotions. His old ad agency was one of the best known in the state a couple of decades ago. Two of the biggest hits of his career came in the early '80s when his agency kicked off the Arizona Lottery ad campaign and got credit for saving Barry Goldwater's last race for re-election.
For his latest effort, Taylor expects it will take some time to build up demand with the direct-sales approach, he says. The product might do better as an on-the-shelf item where people can see and touch it, he adds.
In addition to selling items one at a time through TV ads — for $19.95, plus shipping and handling — Taylor is hoping the product's sales pitch catches the eyes of some buyers for pet stores or general merchandisers.
The first 25,000 units are already made using dog dishes produced in Texas, which are then fitted in Seattle with voice units custom-made in China.
Taylor has enough confidence in the bowl's prospects that he has ordered 25,000 additional voice chips for future product runs.
He estimates product launch, including trademarks and patent applications, has cost nearly $500,000. His investment consists of the concept and the "hundreds of hours" over two years to bring the idea to market. About half a dozen individuals have contributed the seed money to get the product launched, he says.
Tucson investor Coleman Manchester has invested an undisclosed amount and taken a "significant stake" in the product, which he thinks will snowball once people see it in use. "You can't go wrong" with something that helps out animals and their owners, he says. Manchester has three cats and two dogs.
Phoenix-based PetSmart Inc., with nearly 900 stores in the U.S. and Canada, could be an outlet for such a product.
"We are always very interested in products that provide a solution for what we call pet parents — something to make the life of the pet better or the care of the pet easier," says Bruce Richardson, spokesman for PetSmart in Phoenix.
Typically, new products are introduced at industry trade shows, or inventors contact the company directly, he says.
Taylor figures there must be room for him in the $38 billion U.S. pet industry, an estimate of the money that will be spent this year on pets from the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.
For now, it's TV and online sales for the Chatterbowl launch.
Taylor is confident in the product and the campaign. "I'm very sure it's going to be a hit."
• The Chatterbowl has a detachable device called a TalkBox on the inside of the back of the bowl. A 10-second message can be recorded for the pet to hear.
• The dish is triggered when an embedded sensor detects a change in lighting. It is best used with water or dry food.
• For more information, call 1-800-888-2914 or go to www.chatterbowl.com.
Source: www.chatterbowl.com