Walmart Rallies CPGs to Fund More Miracles

Walmart elevated its annual fundraising campaign for Children’s Miracle Network to a new level with the help of key manufacturer partners.For the first time, a trio of promotional partners — Nestlé, Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson — are each bolstering the retailer’s effort with their own donations. In stores, upfront standees carrying the logos of Nestlé’s Gerber, P&G’s Pampers and J&J’s Johnson’s Baby invite shoppers to “Put your money where the miracles are.” Signs affixed to pallets and endcaps throughout the baby department echo the request.J&J is reinforcing its in-store presence with a custom pallet display stocking Desitin, Aveeno Baby and Johnson’s Baby. The CPG has pledged $1 to the cause for each purchase of a product (up to $200,000) from those brands, Infant Tylenol or Infant Motrin. Pampers also has made a $200,000 donation. Gerber is pledging an unspecified portion of sales (but again up to $200,000) over a longer timeframe (May 14 through June 28).A seasonal page on walmart.com aligns the effort with a “Bet on Your Baby” summer TV series co-sponsoted by the retailer and P&G’s Luvs. The second season of the family game show premiered May 31 on ABC. Banner ads in multiple email blasts from the retailer and running throughout walmart.com link to the page.The seasonal page also directs visitors to the retailer's “Every Little Step” microsite (for parenting advice) and links to a CMN-themed shop of SKUs from such brands as Pampers, Aveeno and Nestlé’s Boost Kid Essentials. Additional support for the cause effort has included a dedicated "Baby Days" circular that dropped on June 1.P&G is leveraging social media to extend its reach. Luvs organized its army of mommy bloggers to “live-tweet” about each “Bet On Your Baby” episode, and invited consumers to use a special hashtag during a one-hour Twitter party on June 14 to trigger diaper donations (up to 10,000). On Walmart’s Facebook page, a June 18 update linked to Pampers products in walmart.com's e-commerce area, where the SKUs carry a “Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Partner” tag.Meanwhile, Walmart and sister chain Sam’s Club once again sold “Miracle Balloons” for $1 (or more) to raise donations from May 1 through June 11. (See “Walmart Floats …” in Related Articles). Floorstands merchandising home videos distributed $1 donation cards. Checkout signs supported. Collection stands at store entrances again solicited additional donations. As in 2013, some individual stores also staged fundraising events. And Walmart re-issued promotional packaging for exclusive White Cloud facial tissues (manufactured by Kruger Products), supporting with mobile and social components as well as a sweepstakes. Last year’s six-week program raised roughly $54 million for CMN.

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

You May Also Like

J&J Campaign at Walmart Supports Tree Planting

P&G Promotes Sustainability at Target