If you were anywhere near Māra’s Pond on 2 November 2019, you probably heard the happy racket of barking, applause and the occasional squeak of a training toy. That was Purina AdVENTuROS Dog Friend Day, a free mini-festival for dogs and the people who can’t imagine life without them, expertly steered by host Vita Baļčunaite.

From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. guests rotated between four themed tents, collecting stamps, tips and treat samples while trainers Jevgeņijs Novikovs, Gints Zalmans and Alens Dzenis showed how positive reinforcement turns “wild” energy into teamwork. Every success earned a taste of AdVENTuROS, underlining the day’s core idea: the right reward builds a stronger bond.

A quick loop of the grounds

• Welcome tent – stamp card and raffle ticket (three stamps for completed activities unlocked a raffle for training‑school gift cards worth €60 each), AdVENTuROS sample pack, and tokens for free bean soup and coffee. 
• Theory Tent — “Training Basics” – instructor Alens Dzenis sketched positive‑reinforcement flows on a whiteboard, then acted them out with his dog Maikls. Guests took a short written test; a perfect score earned the coveted stamp and an AdVENTuROS treat pack.
• Safety Tent — “When a strange dog charges” - here Gints Zalmans and his calm German shepherd Arsa drilled visitors on the “stand still, hands down” posture, then let everyone practise with padded sleeves. 
• Activity Tent — Confidence course - head trainer Jevgeņijs Novikovs set up an agility‑lite playground: a height‑adjustable hurdle, a low and a one‑metre table for “place” commands, and “Kuzmičs”, a jacket‑clad dummy that popped upright on a pull‑cord to teach dogs not to spook at sudden movement. Every success was rewarded with an AdVENTuROS bite and, of course, a stamp.
• Between lectures, Jevgeņijs Novikovs and his team staged demonstrations in the main ring “how many commands can one dog learn?”.

The campaign that filled the park

Publicis Groupe didn’t just run the event—they built the buzz from scratch. Two weeks of paid Facebook and Instagram stories put local dogs front-and-centre, urging owners to “earn their wild stripes”. Static and digital billboards ringed Māra’s Pond, and nearby cafés. On-site, towering AdVENTuROS beach flags, tents, and stands kept the orange-and-green visuals in view all day .

The media mix was simple on purpose: be unmissable where dog owners walk their pets, sip their coffee and scroll their feeds. The result? A capacity crowd, 480 sample packs distributed and a queue of tails wagging for more.

Why it mattered

The brief was bigger than footfall. AdVENTuROS is new to Latvia, so the goal was to build trust, spark word of mouth and drive first-time trial. Face-to-face coaching from respected trainers, free product tastings and a light-hearted raffle for obedience-school vouchers delivered exactly that—owners left smarter, their dogs left tired and happy, and the brand left with a park full of advocates.