H-E-B is Texas's favorite grocery retailer, serving the Lone Star State since 1905 and proudly putting Our Texas, Our Future (OTOF) first. We live here, love here, and protect here. That’s why H-E-B is committed to practicing sustainability while also supporting many Texan organizations caring for our land, water, and air. We’re dedicated to making the communities we live in & serve a better place for generations to come with practices like recycling, reducing food waste, and working to grow our renewable energy sources to 50% by 2025.
In an internal H-E-B survey, 68% of customers said that H-E-B should make sustainability a top priority, equal to price & convenience. Despite our brand’s legacy & efforts, only 31% of those surveyed who prioritize sustainability believe H-E-B is committed. This aligns with a recent Gallup poll statistic that Americans are at a seven-year high of being concerned about the environment. Our mission: To grow awareness for H-E-B's longstanding environmental commitments through Our Texas, Our Future.
The OTOF campaign focused on:
Education: Reinforce H-E-B’s reputation as a company that cares about people and the environment, educating Texans on our sustainability initiatives.
Awareness: Spotlight the amazing Texan organizations working to conserve & protect Texas.
Action: Inspire Texans to prioritize sustainability in their daily lives.
H-E-B sought to make a change in the hearts and minds of Texans and showcase the importance we place on preserving the environment, inspiring our customers to take part in our ongoing conservation efforts by learning how to live more sustainably and supporting the organizations working to conserve Texas’ environment. And as everything is bigger in Texas, so were the efforts to reach & educate all Texans, regardless of their current understanding of sustainability, from what is recyclable to the beautiful landscapes & wildlife impacted by these efforts.
H-E-B developed an omnichannel campaign around three primary pillars housed on a dedicated site, OurTexasOurFuture.com. Throughout 2023, the campaign addressed each pillar at multiple touchpoints to speak to Texans about the "why" behind Our Texas, Our Future. Activations for each included:
Preserving Texas’s Environment
A Texas State Park (TSP) partnership to celebrate their 2023 Centennial, including geotargeted ads promoting the outdoors near customers, a TV commercial featuring Texas musician Shakey Graves’ and a $1,000,000 donation to preserve the beauty in our backyard!
Interactive AR murals and social filter that featured Texan wildlife, allowing customers to dynamically engage with animals coming to life, breaking through the screen to interact in the viewers’ environment.
Local Sourcing
An Our Texas, Our Future Farmer’s Market Series in Austin hosted local artisans, farmers,
and environmental charities garnering impressions with eco-minded shoppers.
Living Greener
A 250,000 Earth Day free reusable bag giveaway and launch of new artwork on the everyday H-E-B plastic retail bag with recycling messaging to encourage customers to recycle plastic bags in stores or through our curbside service.
A limited-edition series of Field & Future by H-E-B scented products, including Big Bend Sage & Hill Country Mountain Laurel, in partnership with Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation that allows Texans to live more sustainably thanks to post-consumer recycled content or recyclable packaging, biodegradable formulas or plant-based ingredients.
These tactics ramped up to the premiere of H-E-B Presents: Our Texas, Our Future Films, a bespoke five-part original documentary series produced with Texas-based, award-winning filmmakers, Fin & Fur. Four of the short films highlight important work being done to protect delicate wildlife habitats and threatened animal species in Texas (black bears, bats, ocelots, and redfish). The fifth film celebrates the TSP system in honor of its 2023 Centennial, with narration and music from Texas musicians Shane Smith & the Saints. H-E-B also partnered with Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse to host free screenings in theaters across the state, and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view the series outside under the stars at Guadalupe River State Park that resulted in a $10,000 charitable donation to Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation through ticket sales.
Our Texas, Our Future had a robust year, earning over 250M+ paid media impressions. Across external outlets, the campaign received an organic boost of 280 media and 121 broadcast hits. Together, these drove a +2500% traffic increase to OurTexasOurFuture.com, a resource for customer engagement and discovery. Our commitment gained 38% awareness amongst the primary target within the first six months of launch. Digital, print, and experiential tactics encouraged education and action across a large Texas reach.
The docuseries earned over 7 million views; in a post-campaign performance study of consumers exposed to our docuseries marketing campaign, 74% of those surveyed believed that H-E-B is committed to the environment, proving the worth of our efforts. In partnership with Alamo Drafthouse, OTOF hosted 10 screenings, capturing the undivided attention of community stakeholders, brand ambassadors, and customers for 75 minutes. Batsies, one of the films, was named Best Short Film in Conservation at the Jackson Wild Media Awards, establishing credibility to further customers’ belief towards real commitment. The docuseries earned an additional seven award laurel wreaths and amassed 52,000 views on YouTube, with 46% of views averaging 6 minutes, 46 seconds.
H-E-B earned 54M+ impressions with custom, geotargeted OOH messages in partnership with TSP 2023 Centennial celebration, educating and encouraging exploration of nearby state parks. H-E-B successfully increased plastic collection in 2023, receiving and recycling over 300k pounds of plastic above average via storefront receptacles & Curbside Partners, showcasing knowledge of recycling solutions and customer action, furthering the collective goal for Texas’ future.
