What it had to solve
Turn Purina's official kit sponsorship of St. Louis CITY SC into a living demonstration of its belief that pets and people are better together, at the club's CITYPARK stadium during the inaugural season.
The idea
The first permanent pet-friendly seating section in MLS: four loges, each seating up to four people and two dogs, built into the stadium itself.
How it works
Two years of R&D in which Purina pet behavior scientists worked alongside stadium architects and planners produced four loges safe and enjoyable for fans and pets; one loge rotated into a programmable influencer space hosting popular social-media pets on matchdays.
What it did
Sold out for the full season within days of launch; the influencer loge earned 28 million+ impressions and 40+ media stories; MLS named it Activation of the Year, and it took seven Clio Sports awards — two Golds, one Silver, four Bronzes.
Background
Purina, the St. Louis-based pet care giant and official kit sponsor of MLS expansion club St. Louis CITY SC, introduced the Purina Club at CITYPARK during the club's inaugural season: the first-ever permanent pet-friendly seating section in a Major League Soccer stadium.
The section was not a repainted box. Over two years of research and development, Purina pet behavior scientists worked closely with stadium architects and planners to design a space safe and enjoyable for both fans and pets, guiding the installation of four loges, each holding up to four people and two dogs.
During the season, one loge turned into a programmable space for influencers, inviting some of the most popular pets on social media to share their matchday experience — earning more than 28 million impressions and over 40 media stories. Momentum Worldwide, the experiential agency behind it, framed the work as a brand with 'the courage to commit to it, not just in messaging, but in action'.
Why it lands
Purina's mission — pets and people are better together — is easily said; a permanent stadium section makes the brand prove it in architecture.
St. Louis is both Purina's headquarters city and the club's home, so the partnership had a built-in local truth.
Behavior scientists and architects co-designing the loges answered the obvious objection — is a dog at a match safe? — before critics could ask.
Gifting one loge to pet influencers turned a seating section into an always-on content engine with measurable reach.
What you can take
A sponsorship becomes proof when the brand builds its mission into the venue itself — real dogs in real seats generate content and coverage no spot can fake.
Since then
The Purina Club sold out for the full season within days of its launch and was previously recognized by MLS as Activation of the Year. In November 2024 the work took seven Clio Sports Awards — two Golds, one Silver and four Bronzes — acknowledging the innovative experience by Purina and Momentum Worldwide.
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