Article

Millennials buying in to restaurant brands that embrace philanthropy

Restaurant marketers can capitalize on this trend by thanking guests for their contribution with special offers.

September 16, 2014 by Brenda Rick Smith — Editor, Networld Media Group

Restaurants have always looked for ways to give back to their communities, but they're now talking about it more. Cause marketing is a relatively new phenomenon, and it allows brands to leverage their customer base to join them in fundraising and advocacy.

"Everybody is looking for something, everyone is looking for some way to help. It's become popular to look for a way to do good," said Marla Topliff, president of Rosati's Pizza and advocate for No Kid Hungry. "I think it's because times are so bad. You look for a way to make things better."

Like so many trends shaping the restaurant industry, millennials are driving cause marketing efforts.

"As generations change, the trend will continue," Topliff said. "This generation has shown that they are very much into social responsibility."

Cause marketing can even become a competitive advantage. People go out and eat because they like to go out and eat, said Topliff. Now, factored alongside service, food, location and price, potential customers will also add considerations like whether or not a restaurant is committed to sustainability or to a particular cause.

Customers might make a decision to dine out at a particular restaurant because they know proceeds that night are going to a cause they believe in. Or they might tack an extra dollar or two onto their tab as a donation at the behest of a server. Now, they aren't just dining out; they can also feel good about supporting a cause they love.

Restaurant marketers can capitalize on this opportunity by thanking diners for their contribution with special offers. Many restaurant brands, including Arby's, the largest QSR contributor to the No Kid Hungry campaign, allow guests to write their name on a pin-up and hang in the restaurant, for added recognition.

Corner Bakery Cafe sees a lift in guest traffic from customers coming back to claim the free Whoopee Pie they are awarded for a $1 contribution to Share Our Strength's Dine Out for No Kid Hungry, and from guests redeeming offers from the book the cafe offers, according to Chief Marketing Officer Diana Hovey. Corner Bakery Cafe has seen special offer redemption rates of more than 35 percent with its Dine Out for No Kid Hungry promotion.

Corner Bakery Cafe expects to surpass $1.5 million in total raised to date for Dine Out for No Kid Hungry this year. It has participated in the campaign since 2008.

So how can brands connect themselves – and their customers – to a cause they both believe in?

John Scroggins, vice president of integrated communications for Noble and publicist for No Kid Hungry, has some tips:

Be a customer first.

It's important for brands to understand the issues they champion.

Orange Leaf, for example, dove deep into learning about child hunger when it teamed up with Share Our Strength for the Dine Out for No Kid Hungry campaign. CEO Reese Travis traveled to Maryland with Share Our Strength, where he observed summer meal programs for kids and other activities. The tour solidified Travis' and understanding of child hunger in the U.S and turned him into an advocate.

"Hunger is solveable," said Travis. "You just need to get the right people in front of schools and government leaders."

Pick the right cause

While cause marketing is one of the hottest trends around,brands should engage in it for the right reasons, Topliff said.

"The big thing about cause marketing is to make sure you're doing it for the right cause – the charity. You need to have your whole heart into it and do it because you believe in the cause you are supporting," she said.

For Rosati's Pizza, Share Our Strength's Dine Out for No Kid Hungry campaign is also the ideal fit.

"When you are talking about feeding kids, there's no question it needs to be done. As members of the restaurant industry, that's our responsibility," said Topliff.

It seems as if a lot of Topliff's fellow restaurateurs agree; more than 8,000 restaurants across the U.S. participated in Dine Out for No Kid Hungry last year, raising $5.9 million.

While jumping on board to combat child hunger is a natural fit for many restaurants, the experiences of leadership can also influence charity choices.

For example, following it's CEO's cancer diagnosis, Chicken Salad Chick launched a foundation to raise money for causes related to both hunger and cancer.Sometimes adding a cause marketing platform just makes business sense. In 2011, Jersey Mike's added a program to support the Susan G. Komen for the Cure to reach out to more female customers and bring the customer mix from 60 percent male/40 percent female closer to 50/50. After that initial year, the mix was 54/46 percent.

Train, train, train

Passionate buy-in from a brand's front-line representatives is a must for a successful campaign.

Orange Leaf began communicating about the No Kid Hungry campaign early, using a video produced by Share Our Strength. The video was shown at Orange Leaf's franchisee convention. For this year's campaign, 100 percent of Orange Leaf's franchisees are on board to participate.

Participating in the No Kid Hungry campaign has also had a significant impact on employee's satisfaction with Corner Bakery Cafe, according to Hovey.

"When asked in an employee survey, 90 percent of our employees said they were proud of Corner Bakery Cafe's commitment to giving back to the community – up from 62 percent prior to our partnership with Dine Out for No Kid Hungry," said Hovey.

Don't recreate the wheel

"One of the reasons we love partnering with Share Our Strength is that they understand the restaurant industry," said Karley Hofer, director of brand development at Orange Leaf. "They give us a platform that fits with our brand."

Share Our Strength brought its own brand recognition, awareness and resources to the table, said Hofer. It offered granular statistics that helped localize hunger issues for Orange Leaf's franchisees.The organization, Hofer said, recognizes that hunger is different city by city and state by state.

Get the word out

For example, Orange Leaf stores featured posters, window clings, counter cards, inserts and POS system messaging throughout September. The brand also sent e-blasts to all its loyalty customers and push notifications to all app users. Corporate social accounts chatted up the campaign, and local stores were encouraged to tweet and post about it.

Brand fans also helped Orange Leaf get the word out on social media. Hofer noticed fans posting pictures of the commemorative orange cups Orange Leaf offered as part of the campaign. Orange Leaf is encouraging fans to do it again this year, and include the hashtag #enditwithorange.

Last year, Orange Leaf's efforts yielded 533,580 social media impressions. The high number of impressions may have been part of the reason Orange Leaf raised $80,000 through its inaugural campaign. It aims to raise twice that much this year.

Image source: Pixaby

About Brenda Rick Smith

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Brenda has more than 20 years of experience as a marketing and public relations professional. She invested most of her career telling the story of entrepreneurial non-profit organizations, particularly through social media.

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