Share-A-Textbook (SAT) is FairPrice Group’s signature community initiative. SAT exists to provide free pre-loved textbooks to underprivileged students and families. This is especially important and useful, given the current uncertain economic situation and decades-high high inflation rates which the Singapore economy is experiencing. It is a public-private partnership that also fulfils the dual purpose of being environmentally sustainable through the reusing and recycling of educational materials.
This public/private partnership involves:
With the support of the community and our strategic partners in nurturing this initiative, it has transformed into an endearing and much anticipated annual event in the community calendar over the last four decades.
SAT has been running for 40 years and continues to be a pillar of Singapore’s ground-up community initiatives with these three main objectives:
For its 40th anniversary, SAT aimed to better reach its target audiences by expanding reach through various owned, earned and paid channels, with priority on digital and social media.
INFORM: Awareness
We launched a targeted awareness campaign through social media, press releases, EDMs and more with clear information on how and where to donate textbooks.
Social & Digital
The project launch and any subsequent updates were communicated on our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. The FairPrice Group e-commerce site (www.fairprice.com.sg) hosted a dedicated microsite for volunteer sign-ups and more information. The microsite and FairPrice Group app also featured rotating publicity banners for widespread exposure.
Facebook posts were boosted to target parents and older generations who are typically more active on that platform. We also tapped on micro-influencers on Instagram with niche parenting and family interests to leverage their following of young families to amplify awareness.
Strategic media releases were sent to local news and media outlets. Additionally, to reach deeper into various customer segments with niche interests, key messages were strategically seeded in online community groups like The New Age Parents, Little Day Out, and WhatsApp chat groups like Mummies Shopping/Lobang. This generated valuable earned coverage.
Offline
Digital Out of Home: Eye-catching bus stop advertisements were strategically placed near schools to reach students and parents
Out of Home: In-train panels, wall stickers and train station wallscapes on the Downtown Line
Print: Newspaper advertisements
In-store
From 1 - 30 November 2022, publicity materials were put up at 177 FairPrice supermarkets, FairPrice Xtra hypermarkets, FairPrice Finest stores, Warehouse Club, and FairPrice Xpress outlets at Esso service stations. These also served as donation drop-off points. With an estimated 500,000 customers flowing in and out of our stores every day, there was a sizable captive audience for donation appeals broadcasted via the in-store radios and publicity materials too.
ENGAGE: Collaboration
We identified micro-influencers passionate about education, sustainability, and parenting to collaborate with, leveraging their existing networks to spread the word via social media.
We also worked closely with schools and 111 community clubs to publicise the project’s call for donations and volunteers. About 25,000 underprivileged students, between seven to 16 years old, were selected by various social service organisations and Community Development Councils and given priority access to collect the pre-loved textbooks.
ACTIVATE: Stakeholder mobilisation
We developed targeted communication for internal stakeholders (employees) and external stakeholders (partners, members of public) and implemented a volunteer recruitment drive through our website and social media.
EDMs were also sent to encourage internal volunteer sign-ups. All employees’ signatures also featured the same publicity banner; promotional emails to customers included a more discreet, skinny publicity banner to call for donations.
Compared to 2021, campaign impressions and engagements for recorded an estimated 33% and 184% increase* respectively on social media:
All of this contributed to the success of the 40th edition of SAT which saw:
The rapid dissemination of information to spread awareness and mobilise a broad and diverse audience resulted in extensive coverage across digital, socials & print.
SAT also received valuable earned media coverage throughout the campaign period:
Overall, the impact over the past four decades:
These achievements illustrate the success of the team’s objectives in making education accessible for all, and playing a part in advancing the cause for a circular economy.
It enhanced our brand’s image and values, aligning perfectly with the campaign’s goal to provide free pre-loved textbooks to underprivileged students and families, and fulfil the dual purpose of being environmentally sustainable through the reusing and recycling of educational materials.
[1] Source: Conservatree
*Estimated numbers from previous campaign period
**Estimated numbers from 2022
***Informed estimations over four decades of the project
