Great Starts, Great Stories

Campaign: Great Starts, Great Stories
Company: Kellogg’s and Scholastic
Nonprofit Partner: Books for Kids
Launch Date: August 26, 2013

Campaign Description:  

Kellogg’s has teamed up with Scholastic and celebrity Taye Diggs to promote childhood literacy in a new cause marketing effort. When consumers collect 3 codes from over 80 Kellogg’s products and enter the codes online, they elect to either receive a free book or “gift” a book to a school in need through nonprofit Books for Kids. Over at the Scholastic site, consumers are also invited to take part in monthly “MiniMissions” and earn two free books while supplies last, as well as enter a sweepstakes.

Our Take:  

This partnership presents a new corporate alliance spin on traditional cause marketing efforts, combining Kellogg’s valuable product real estate with the Scholastic book empire to pack a punch for both consumer and nonprofit. The engagements encourage consumers to return to the respective microsites, either to enter codes or to complete monthly challenges, an element often absent from cause campaigns. Missing from this campaign, however, is the story of impact. Who’s benefitting from books? Where do they live? Nearby? And imagine this effort with a slight twist: ‘earn one book, donate one to a child near you’. The wide reach of both consumer brands involved virtually guarantee the goal of 200,000 books donated will be achieved. To elevate this campaign to the status of a ‘Boxtops’-level success, however, will take additional iteration.