Hunger Is: Albertsons Companies Foundation and Entertainment Industry Foundation
In the highly competitive grocery space, in order to distinguish their community engagement from competitors, Albertsons Companies strives to impact their local communities at 2,300 stores and clearly connect customers to a cause through positive messaging.
In 2014, several of the main food-security focused nonprofits (Feeding America, Share Our Strength: No Kid Hungry, FRAC, Hunger Free America and WhyHunger) joined forces with the Albertsons Companies Foundation (ACF) and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) to bring greater awareness to childhood hunger in America and the stark fact that 1 in 5 children struggle with food security. Although the Hunger Is movement started in 2014, it needed to be reimagined and refocused in 2016 and set a shared cause goal of providing 5 million more breakfasts to kids in need.
Albertsons Companies participated in a 30-day campaign to support the effort, which included customer donations at the checkstand and donations generated by the purchase of participating products. The campaign took place in more than 2,300 Albertsons Companies stores.
To complement the in-store fundraising, Hunger Is once again enlisted the incomparable Viola Davis as an authentic Ambassador for the cause. A national PSA featuring Ms. Davis ran in broadcast, print, radio, digital, and out-of-home channels before and after the in-store activation.
The team communicated early and often with local operating areas through a variety of tactics and integrated an automated ask at the pin pad. The Shopper Marketing Department coordinated the effort throughout all of the various operating areas, managed all POS implementation at the stores, and “sold” the program to CPG vendors, ultimately securing participation from 19 companies with 35 brands. Each product sold triggered at least a $.10 donation to the cause, raising over $485,000.
Customers surveyed reported positive feelings about the store and their experience with the campaign.
Over $5 million (raised from customer point of sale donations) and more than $485,000 (by consumer packed good partner contributions) was donated directly to 108 geographically aligned nonprofit organizations (a change from the previous organization-centric model) to provide breakfast both in and out of school, achieving their goal of over 5 million breakfasts to kids in need.