How a marketer-turned-CEO helped turn Whisker into a cat-litter empire. Before influencer was a common job title, Jacob Zuppke enlisted twenty five famous cats to promote self-cleaning litter boxes on Instagram for free in twenty fifteen. Zuppke had just joined Automated Pet Care Products, the Michigan-based company behind the Litter-Robot, as a digital-media consultant. A promotion where a different feline's account gave one of the products away daily helped sales nearly double by the end of twenty sixteen. Today, Zuppke is president and CEO of the company, founded in twenty thousand and now called Whisker. His ascent shows how a marketer's instincts turned an unglamorous chore into a big business, with overall revenue soaring significantly during his tenure to more than one point five billion dollars in lifetime sales. The company sells its Litter-Robot boxes retailing between five hundred ninety-nine and nine hundred ninety-nine dollars, along with its own brand of litter and accessories. Zuppke came to Whisker after selling his stake in a digital marketing agency and was recruited to help market the third-generation Litter-Robot, eventually succeeding founder Brad Baxter as CEO in late twenty twenty-one. The success of early campaigns convinced Zuppke that Whisker could handle marketing in-house, leading to creative and sometimes provocative TV commercials like 'Don't Be a Scooper' that focused on the downsides of manual scooping. Despite some customer complaints about the provocative tone, Zuppke embraced having a distinct point of view. As Whisker expanded from about twenty-five employees to roughly six-five zero today, Zuppke maintains personal rituals like messaging every employee on birthdays and taking staffers to lunch. The company is headquartered in a Detroit suburb with products made in Wisconsin, and employees are welcome to bring their own pets to the office. Source: Business Insider #Business #Pets #Marketing #Success #Leadership
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