Every year on July 11, the world’s largest convenience retailer – 7-Eleven, Inc. – celebrates its birthday by offering customers a free small Slurpee® drink across the country. For Slurpee Day 2024, our goal was to transform 7-Eleven’s most iconic customer tradition into a platform for social impact, raising both funds and awareness for its marquee charity partner, Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals®. The idea was simple but powerful: pair a moment of joy (a free small Slurpee drink) with a call to action, using powerful storytelling and national visibility to mobilize giving at scale.
The campaign featured Nolan, a Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals National Champion, whose touching story inspired the cause. His journey was told across in-store signage, social platforms and a custom-designed Slurpee cup, serving as a unifying narrative that tied together our fundraising and brand storytelling goals.
Primary Objective:
Reinforce 7-Eleven’s commitment to Thriving Communities, our philanthropic strategy, by embedding purpose into a fan-favorite retail experience and cultural holiday. Through strategic media placements, in-store promotions and cross-platform content, we aimed to raise awareness of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals’ mission and engage customers in a meaningful way.
Secondary Objective:
Maximize in-store fundraising for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across 7-Eleven®, Speedway® and Stripes® stores by encouraging customers to donate or round up at checkout.
Success was measured through three lenses:
We set out to reimagine Slurpee Day 2024 as more than a birthday celebration, but a platform to create impact. In collaboration with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals®, our goal was to merge 7-Eleven’s iconic tradition with a powerful cause: supporting children’s health.
Our plan of action was rooted in three strategic pillars: purposeful storytelling, broad multi-channel amplification and seamless in-store activation.
To bring the campaign to life, we collaborated with Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to feature Nolan, a National Champion for the organization and retinoblastoma survivor, as the face of the effort. His design appeared on a limited-edition Slurpee cup, in a storytelling video with his mother and in a live interview with San Antonio Living on Nolan’s hometown broadcast station WOAI-TV. Nolan’s journey became an emotional centerpiece, creating a genuine and personal connection with customers.
In parallel, we executed the fundraising campaign across our network of stores nationwide (7-Eleven, Speedway and Stripes stores). Customers received a free small Slurpee® on July 11 and were encouraged to donate or round up at checkout to support local children’s hospitals. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals staff and their families also visited stores, helping bring visibility to the mission.
Our amplification strategy included:
A core challenge was ensuring consistency and visibility across three distinct retail banners and a large network of hospital partners. We solved this by delivering centralized creative toolkits and maintaining close collaboration with the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals throughout execution. Coordinated storytelling and real-time social listening helped us maintain message alignment and audience engagement.
What made this campaign truly unique was the way it integrated a beloved consumer experience with a deeply meaningful mission. Slurpee Day became more than a giveaway, it was a moment of connection, generosity and community impact, powered by real stories and authentic collaboration.
Our objective for Slurpee Day 2024 was to turn 7-Eleven’s 97th birthday into a purpose-driven celebration — one that raised meaningful funds for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals while increasing brand engagement and customer participation.
We consider the campaign a success across all metrics. On Slurpee Day alone, 7-Eleven, Inc. raised $51,664.63 across our network of stores, marking a 21% increase in average daily fundraising compared to July 1–26. Customers embraced the cause, enjoying FREE small Slurpee drinks while donating to local children’s hospitals.
Our storytelling approach — featuring Nolan, a Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals National Champion, on a limited-edition Slurpee® cup — created an emotional connection and drove deeper media engagement. Supporting content across social, in-store, and broadcast channels amplified visibility and impact.
We achieved:
In summary, by combining community impact with a beloved customer experience, we not only were successful in raising funds and awareness for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, but also reinforced 7-Eleven’s brand purpose, making this year’s Slurpee Day a clear success.
