Kroger Gets Plenty of Help in 'Giving Hope'

The Kroger Co. partnered with PepsiCo, the National Football League and other consumer packaged goods companies for its annual "Giving Hope a Hand" breast cancer awareness program.Running Sept. 25 through Oct. 8, the program is designed to teach shoppers about breast cancer – especially Kroger's core demographic, "shopper mom," according to PepsiCo's Quinn Kilbury, senior marketing manager for Kroger. The integrated campaign includes social media support, a dedicated website, customized packaging and in-store materials.Kilbury says Kroger research, including proprietary data from Cincinnati-based dunnhumby, combined with PepsiCo's own research shows that consumers are more likely to support products and brands that are tied to a cause. "There's no question that cause marketing is the most powerful in terms of making people feel good and supporting brands, products and retailers that are doing the right thing," he says.Kroger features survivors' stories on Sharingcourage.com as well as on packaging and in-store promotional materials. The survivors are mainly Kroger and PepsiCo employees."We're working on the idea of building a community, a network of support, but it's also a great way to showcase the various CPGs who are willing to step forward and invest in supporting those issues that matter to their customers," says Janet Ausdenmoore, Kroger manager of corporate affairs. The retailer also spreads the message on its Facebook page, via YouTube and through local media stories with content generated about the survivor participants. The Kroger team directs all content, and U.S. Digital Partners, Cincinnati, handles all technical support.The NFL and its players take center stage in the retailer's 2,500 stores in 31 states. New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning and New York Jets QB Mark Sanchez appear on in-store displays and some packaging posing with the survivors. Among the displays are three-sided standees and endcap headers with Pepsi's familiar Pepsi pink "Hope" packaging. There are also center-aisle/lobby displays, pole toppers and stanchion signs explaining the program. Tracy-Locke, Wilton, Conn., handled all visuals and displays.Shelf tags call out the participating products, which receive additional merchandising support as well as support in circulars. All participating CPG companies must adhere to certain standards set by the retailer, Ausdenmoore says, but the brands choose which products are "a good value that will resonate with the target consumers. It's a great way for those participating to elevate their brands, but the biggest piece is communicating our message about the cause." Sales lifts are measured in-store, but U.S. Digital Partners also tracks the digital efforts to measure effectiveness of the program.The "Giving Hope a Hand" program started in 2006 after so many of the retailer's vendors began finding ways to bring pink into stores during October, Ausdenmoore says. Melding them together into one program helped target the core demographic. "It's an opportunity to talk about a subject that's touching a lot of our customers' lives," she says.

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