Cause and Effect

Supermarkets are prime locations for programs centered on raising awareness and funds for various health-related organizations.

Last November, a cross-promotional community event, hosted by Bi-Lo and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), took place in support of Susan G. Komen at Bi-Lo store No. 5704 in Greenville, S.C. At the event, 25 women received breast cancer screenings at St. Francis Health Care’s mobile mammography unit, and hundreds of wrestling fans, drawn by pre-event publicity, flocked to meet “WWE Diva Wrestlers” Lillian Garcia and Alicia Fox in person.

Bi-Lo, which, along with sister banner Winn-Dixie, raised more than $445,000 through checkout donations last fall for distribution to 18 local Komen affiliates across the Southeast, donated bottled water to event attendees, handed out T-shirts plugging its “Dollar Tank Club” gasoline loyalty program and even made special WWE Diva cookies.

“This is an example of how the grocery channel is able to work with a nontraditional partner in support of the same cause, resulting in great successes,” notes Carrie Glasscock, director of public relations at Dallas-based Susan G. Komen, adding that since 2009, Jacksonville, Fla.-based Bi-Lo Holdings has donated more than $920,000 to the organization through customer donations.

Beyond the match-up with WWE, the grocer’s efforts to raise funds and awareness to fight breast cancer have generated “sizeable donations each year,” says Glasscock. “The partnership is so successful because it gives Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie, and their customers, a chance to support breast cancer programs in their local communities.”

Success at Retail

Of course, that’s far from the only success story when it comes to retail-based programs in support of a range of worthy health-related causes.

For example, San Bernardino, Calif.-based Stater Bros. Charities, a partner of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and its Light The Night Walk for the past six years, has to date raised $1.97 million to support the group’s mission. Last June, Stater Bros. Markets employees and customers at the chain’s 166 locations across Southern California raised $332,000 through a program enabling customers to buy paper balloon icons at checkout while making a donation to White Plains, N.Y.-based LLS, and the grocer’s 1,200-person team raised $75,000 for the Orange County Light The Night Walk in September.

“Light The Night Walk is not only a great way to show our community that we care, but it is also a fun way to partner with our customers on an exciting promotion,” says George Frahm, Stater Bros. EVP of administration and distribution.

Then there’s Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway, which conducts an in-store checkout donation campaign to raise funds for 30-year national corporate partner Easter Seals. Besides raising funds to further Easter Seals’ goal of helping children and adults with disabilities live better lives, the grocer is also a longtime employer of people with disabilities.

“Across all 1,300-plus stores, consistent messaging (both customer- and employee-facing) helps raise awareness and build momentum,” says Alex Steele, assistant VP of development at Chicago-based Easter Seals. “To help keep the staff energized, Easter Seals affiliates and headquarters employees, volunteers and clients visit as many stores as they are able, as often as possible — all while sharing the impact our work has for those with disabilities, their families and the community as a whole.”

According to Steele, Safeway and the Safeway Foundation donated more than $9 million to Easter Seals in 2013 alone.

In common with the aforementioned retailers, Giant/Martin’s, a division of Ahold USA, supports various health-related causes, among them Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) Hospitals, by selling paper candles and balloons for $1 apiece at checkout, along with associate volunteerism at CMN events; breast cancer awareness, by donating 5 cents from every pink reusable bag sold, to local awareness programs, as well as women’s health fairs and “pink” in-store cooking classes; and the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society, by employee participation in the largest MS Walk team in the United States.

Of the last example, Christopher Brand, public and community relations manager at Carlisle, Pa.-based Giant/Martin’s, notes that “our relationship with that organization has evolved from a customer-facing campaign, where [the chain] raised money at the register, to an associate-driven fundraiser. Associates enjoy giving back to the cause and supporting their local communities.

“Results vary by program, and often by store, but while it may be a national cause or an overarching national organization, Giant/Martin’s donates any funds raised to the local affiliate within its market area,” continues Brand. “Our customers respond favorably to this. With front end campaigns such as CMN, the customer generosity has been over-whelming, and we average $1 million in donations annually from the two campaigns we conduct each year for the organization.”

Communities’ Lifeblood

But what makes supermarkets such a fruitful venue for health-related campaigns?

The importance of such programs at the retail level is “immeasurable,” according to Komen’s Glasscock. “We know grocery stores are the lifeblood of a community, and this type of program allows customers to help, no matter the donation size, their friends and neighbors.” These in-store efforts “give customers a simple and impactful way to take action and make a difference in their community,” she adds.

Glasscock further notes that “store customers are more likely to retain the education and awareness messages they are exposed to in-store, as most customers will visit the grocery store multiple times throughout the duration of the program. Grocery retailers are also essential in the world of traditional cause marketing, as their support, buy-in and placement of products benefiting a charity can significantly impact the success of any given program.”

“The traffic — and resulting opportunity for visibility — provides a powerful force that, when coupled with a dedicated culture, as is found at Safeway, allows for the impressive — and life-changing, for our clients — results,” says Steele of Easter Seals.

“As part of our promise to be a better neighbor in the communities where we operate, Giant/Martin’s is committed to not only supporting programs through donations, but also raising awareness of important health-related issues that are affecting our customers and their families,” explains Brand. “For many of our customers, health-and-wellness decisions are made at the grocery store. We want to be sure we are positioned as a resource and providing the information needed to make those decisions.”

Emerging Trends

Glasscock highlights two up-and-coming trends in the evolution of health-related cause marketing at retail: Customers’ demand for greater transparency is spurring supermarkets to join forces with reputable organizations that account for the dollars raised through in-store programs, and grocers are now tending to support multiple causes throughout the year, in which case “partnering with a specific charity offers authenticity to these ongoing efforts,” she notes.

“At least in our experience, grocer-based programs have become more tightly linked to a particular company’s mission and values,” observes Steele. “This manifests itself in a more focused selection of charity partners that better represent a natural affinity area, a particular disease or condition, or the ability to deliver visible and dramatic impact in communities. As grocers work to build connections and long-term loyalty with their customers, being able to demonstrate shared values and a commitment to improving lives where they operate is a powerful tool, and a trend that appears to be advancing.”