How Orange Leaf Combined In-Store & Online Cause Marketing to Give One Million Meals
Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt and No Kid Hungry (NKH) share a common brand color - orange - and a common mission: to end childhood hunger.
“Orange is the color for hunger awareness, so it is only natural that Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt will ‘Go Orange for No Kid Hungry’” said Reese Travis, CEO of Orange Leaf.
To reach its goal of raising $100,000 to fund one million meals for hungry kids, Orange Leaf launched a three-pronged effort in its 300+ locations. The campaign included two in-store cause promotions and an online fundraiser with the t-shirt fundraising site, Booster.
The combination of offline and online fundraising worked! Orange Leaf customers raised $132,911 to feed hungry children.
Here’s how the fundraiser worked in-store, at the register and online.
Cups for a Cause
Unless you're like me and put your mouth directly under the yogurt machine, the first thing you do in an Orange Leaf is choose your container. During the promotion for No Kid Hungry, customers had the option of a limited edition Orange Leaf cup. Eighty cents from the sale of the $1 cups went to the No Kid Hungry campaign.
Customers purchased over 100,000 cups!
Charity Pinups
With froyo in hand, customers next headed to the register where cashiers asked them to purchase a $3 charity pinup, which included a $1-off coupon for their next visit.
Each charity pinup had a spot where customers could sign his or her name. The pinups were displayed in stores.
T-shirt Fundraising
Orange Leaf didn’t stop with in-store cause marketing. They took an integrated approach to fundraising by teaming up with Booster, a t-shirt fundraising site that has raised millions for good causes.
Working with Orange Leaf and No Kid Hungry, Booster designed a shirt that was promoted and sold online. For ten dollars, customers received a t-shirt and a coupon for free froyo.
No Kid Hungry and Orange Leaf promoted the orange tee on social media and through email marketing.
The t-shirt offer struck a chord with customers, who purchased 503 shirts.
“When I saw this come thru my email my heart broke but I was overjoyed!” wrote one customer on the shirt’s Booster page. “It breaks my heart to know there are kids and parents without food! I want to help even if it is buying a shirt!”
Each shirt sold triggered 100 meals for needy kids. Adding a digital component to the fundraiser contributed over 50,000 meals to Orange Leaf’s goal.
“After hearing of the success Denny’s had in 2014 with their Booster partnership, we felt that partnering with a company like Booster would be a great way to drive awareness and additional donations online,” said Katie Anderson, Sr. National Marketing Associate for Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt.
“Partnering with Booster gave traction to online donations where we have been struggling in the past. With this partnership, we experienced a 1900% increase in online donations in 2015 versus 2014,” Katie added.
Key Takeaways
1. The best cause marketing programs are integrated, multifaceted. Orange Leaf didn't rely on one fundraiser. Instead they chose a three-prong approach to engage customers when they first entered the store, at the register and online.
2. Incentives are key. Whether it's purchasing a cup, a charity pinup or t-shirt, Orange Leaf incentivized and rewarded customers with free froyo.
3. Retailers are looking for better ways to engage customers online. With significant email and social media followings, Orange Leaf worked with Booster to dramatically increase online donations.
This post is sponsored by Booster, a social fund-raising platform where you can support a campaign for whatever cause you care about by selling T-shirts you design. Visit their How It Works page or contact Matt Reason at matt@booster.com.
