Snuggle App

The situation in the world

According to various resources, there are about 900 million dogs in the world, of which 83% are homeless (Research about stray dogs, DogCare 2020, Wikipedia article about stray dogs). About 2.7 million dogs die every year, because there is simply no room for them in shelters, and there aren't that many people who are ready to foster dogs. Many of the dogs that end up in shelters are purebred (about 25%). Often they end up in shelters by accident, because careless owners lose them. But only 15-20% of such dogs return home.

The situation in Russia

At the beginning of 2020, according to the head of the State Duma's Committee on Ecology and Environmental Protection Vladimir Burmatov, the shortage of places in animal shelters (both dogs and cats) exceeded 75%. «The shelters can house only 92 thousand animals in all regions of the Russian Federation. Animals that need shelters at the beginning of the year — 408K».

Now only in Moscow shelters, there are about 16 thousand dogs. Thousands of animals are on the street.

• To analyze similar websites and applications, as well as applications with similar mechanics (for example, dating applications) and develop a Tone of Voice for the application

• To conduct research among dog owners, shelter staff, and foster carers and think the through the structure of shelters', dogs' and humans' profiles

• To develop the first screens of the application: onboarding, a request for permission to receive notifications and an example of a notification, a pop-up about donations and a success screen, an example of an error screen

The application is under development. The team is busy thinking through the dogs’ and shelters’ profiles. The main task is to provide potential dog owners or the foster care providers as much information as possible in order to prevent/reduce the rate of subsequent rejections and returns to the shelter to zero.

The team lacks information about what specific knowledge will help people make an informed and most deliberate decision.

Research question: What should be indicated in the description of the shelter and the pet's profile so that people can make the right choice?

Research method: a survey in Google Forms 

Why a survey?

• we needed to interview a large number of people in a short period of time

• we needed answers that would resonate with a large number of people

My target audience for the survey was:

1. people who already have a dog

2. those who want to get a dog

3. foster care providers for dogs

Number of survey participants: 66 people

• For 50% it’s important to know all the details concerning the dog's health — chronic diseases, particularities concerning the care, and so on

• 47% want to know about the dog’s character and how it gets along with other people and animals

• For 29% it’s important to read reviews of the shelter

• 23% make the primary choice based on the photo of the dog

• For 17% it’s important to see a photo of the shelter itself

• For 16% it’s important to know the history of the dog — whether it previously had owners or not, how the pet ended up in the shelter, what happened prior to that

Conclusions

The preview of the dog's profile must contain the following data:

1. A photo

2. Characteristics: age; size/weight; personality/temperament (friendly, playful, aggressive, introvert)

3. Health: breed (or what breed it looks like); vaccination or no vaccination; diseases

4. Geolocation — to immediately discard the shelters that are too distant 

The dog's profile must contain the following data: 

1. More detailed information from the preview — more photos, more details about the character and temperament, health and medical history

2. Documents: passport (yes/no), health certificates

3. Personal history: was raised on the street or had an owner before; if there was a previous owner — what happened?

4. Behavior/socialization: how well the dog gets along with children and other dogs

5. Maintenance/care: an apartment is suitable or a house is needed; features of care; type of nutrition; knows/executes commands; a list of examinations that the dog will need to undergo

6. Contacts of dog handlers, specialists who’ll help to work out existing problems

The description of the shelters should include the following:

1. The badge that the shelter has been thoroughly checked by the service

2. Information about the shelter (area, how many years on the market, conditions for keeping pets, are there veterinarians or no, how many volunteers work in the shelter). If the shelter is private — information about the owner

3. Photos

4. Statistics: how many animals get there per year; how many get adopted 

5. Reviews from people who’ve already adopted a dog from the shelter

6. Media publications

7. List of criteria by which they choose owners for dogs

8. Links to social networks and website; contacts 

Next step: to do this kind of research in order to form the right profile for those looking for a dog

Tone of voice

My audience's TOV according to the N/N Group matrix: serious, conversational, enthusiastic.

Conclusions were made on the basis of correspondence with potential users of the app and participants of my survey (reviewed/analyzed TOV of all the responses).

How do we 'sound'?

Brand characteristics. The impression we want users (potential pet owners, shelter workers, and volunteers) to take away after any experience with Snuggle.

• Friendly and open: we don't take ourselves too seriously

• Simple and convenient: the app is easy to navigate, to search for pets & contact shelters

• Reliable and safe: we check thoroughly information about shelters, respond promptly to complaints about potential owners, and are trustworthy

• Sociable: we want to create a real community where everyone helps and supports each other

• Efficient: we change the lives of dogs and people for the better and help them find each other

• Professional: we're honest, invested in the process, and ready to help both parties