Dine launches AI-powered “Cat Decoder” tool to delight pet owners and drive engagement
Dine, with help from Amazon Ads and Essencemediacom, has introduced an interactive AI tool that helps cat owners interpret their pets’ desires.
The announcement:
The DINE® Brand, Australia’s leading premium grocery wet cat food, has unveiled the “Cat Decoder” – an interactive AI tool developed in partnership with EssenceMediacom and Amazon Ads. The tool is designed to help cat owners decode their feline’s mysterious desires and reinforce that DINE® cat food truly satisfies.
The DINE® brand has long held a category leading position in the wet cat single serve market. However, as the pet food category continues to innovate, and pets take on more prominent positions within families, DINE® embraced the opportunity to create a tool that brings pet parents and their cats together in a fun and interactive manner.
Cats can be hard to please. Research shows that while 80% of cat owners say they enjoy spoiling their cats*, their best intentions often miss the mark, leaving them to wonder, “What is my cat really thinking?” The Cat Decoder uses AI to create bespoke videos that reveal what cats are thinking in a delightfully disruptive and shareable way. Owners simply upload a photo of their cat, select how they best try to win their cat’s affection, and AI does the rest!
Using Amazon AI services and thousands of real customer reviews, the tool animates the cat’s photo and overlays an AI script to the image, making the pet owner’s cat speak to them with engaging, personalised scripts – often suggesting that only DINE® cat food is WHAT CATS WANT™. Pet owners are then seamlessly guided to a direct link to purchase DINE® products on Amazon.
The campaign is designed to engage relevant customers across Amazon.com.au, Prime Video, and TikTok, the epicentre of cat culture. On Amazon, the strategy focussed on first-party insights to reach audiences based on purchase intent and contextual relevance (e.g. pet-related product browsing, specific content genres). Additionally, remarketing efforts were implemented to re-engage audiences, while TikTok influencers amplify the message and drive further shareability.
Camille Shepherd, portfolio marketing director for the DINE® Brand, Mars Australia, said: “We’re incredibly proud to partner with Amazon, TikTok and EssenceMediacom on this groundbreaking campaign that delivers on pet parent insights, brand values and provides data-driven solutions. We are thrilled to launch a highly interactive, engaging campaign to fast-track growth on the extraordinary DINE® brand and ultimately provide more moments of connection with high-quality delicious cat food.”
Carl Colman, EssenceMediacom Melbourne managing director, said: “The Cat Decoder is a brilliant example of how data, technology, and creativity can unite to create genuine emotional connection and help drive commercial impact.”
The campaign launched on Wednesday 1st August 2025.
*Source: Mintel Group, 2020 Survey of pet care (pet care includes: products and services market includes pet food, pet supplies, veterinary services, pet services (grooming, boarding, training, etc)
Source: WPP Media
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topics
Camille Shepherd
Carl Colman
Cat Decoder
DINE
EssenceMediacom Melbourne
Mars Australia
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