Like many pet product retailers, Chewy saw sales rise during the pandemic as millions of consumers across the country invested in new animal companions. The online retailer is now using its recent gains to expand and continue connecting with customers.

It’s doing so under the helm of a new chief marketing officer. Mark Eamer joined 11-year-old Chewy late last year after working for two decades at Amazon, most recently as VP of advertising, product and media. The common theme between his old employer and his new company “is working on pioneering businesses and helping grow those businesses,” he said, speaking on the latest episode of the Marketer’s Brief podcast.

For its most recent quarter, reported in late March, Chewy generated $2.4 billion in net sales, a 17% rise over the year-earlier period. The company recently debuted a brand campaign called “Chatty Pets” with 72andSunny. The push offers a look at what pets are thinking when they await and receive their Chewy deliveries.

Eamer said he plans to build on the campaign in the second half of the year and use it as a unifying theme throughout Chewy’s marketing.

“It’s exceeding expectations on awareness,” he said, noting the campaign has been on channels including connected TV, YouTube, social and display ads.

“That is the big a-ha for us, is that when you have channel consistency and you can hit a certain reach and frequency ... you can start to change customer behaviors.”

On the podcast, Eamer also discusses retail industry trends like NFTs and virtual reality.

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