Hrvatski Telekom uses food-scented billboards and GPS to help owners find their lost dogs

Hrvatski Telekom has turned out-of-home advertising into a search-and-rescue tool for missing pets.

Working with creative agency Bruketa&Zinic&Grey, the Croatian telecom company developed a billboard that releases the scent of food to attract stray dogs. The idea is that the scent of food, plus integrated water bowls, will keep the animal calm while the owner, alerted by the company's GPS Pet Tracker, makes their way to the location. The first installation went live in Zagreb, placed strategically in an area frequented by dog walkers.

The billboard functions as both advertisement and utility. Rather than relying on passersby to spot a lost pet, the system leverages canine behavior — dogs follow their noses — to actively draw animals toward a safe point. Once there, the water bowls provide comfort while the GPS locator does its job. The approach transforms a traditionally passive medium into an active participant in the product's value proposition, demonstrating the tracker's capability through tangible intervention rather than claims or visuals alone.

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More than 1,500 dogs go missing or stray in Croatia each year. For pet owners, the emotional weight is significant; for the animals, the risks are real. This activation shows how brands can move beyond awareness campaigns and into practical problem-solving. By designing around genuine user need and animal behavior, Hrvatski Telekom created a piece of infrastructure that earns attention through usefulness. The concept could easily be replicated near parks, shelters, trails or anywhere lost pets might roam. As technology companies look for ways to prove their products' real-world value, interventions like this offer a template: make the benefit tangible, make it helpful and let the utility speak for itself.