What was once seen as a reflection of narcissism, selfies have now become a symbol of selflessness, thanks to the #DrinkGoodDoGood campaign. Just ask the selfie-queens themselves, Ellen DeGeneres and Kim Kardashian, whose do-good selfie sparked an Instagram trend that took the nation by storm and confronted local food deserts head on.
- Nearly 24 million Americans live in food deserts and don't have access to affordable, quality, fresh fruits and vegetables. In fact, this issue affects some of the nation's largest cities. For example, in a 30-square-mile area of South LA, there are only 60 grocery stores — one store for every 22,000 residents. Chicago's food desert population is estimated to be 384,000 — enough to fill Lincoln Park 17 times. Nearly 300,000 people in Washington, D.C. live in food deserts, enough to stretch from the Capitol steps to the Lincoln Memorial almost 60 times.
- In an effort to raise awareness around these food deserts and help provide much needed access to fresh produce to communities in need, the #DrinkGoodDoGood campaign inspired Americans to share a photo holding a fruit or vegetable. For every photo posted with #DrinkGoodDoGood, Naked Juice donated 10 pounds of produce* to Wholesome Wave (up to 500,000 pounds).
*The monetary equivalent of fruits and vegetables. Maximum donation of $500,000.
The team developed a strategy built on a comprehensive media outreach plan leveraging campaign ambassadors and focusing on regional wins laddering up to relevant national exposure.
To help spread the word and drive participation, MullenLowe carefully curated a group of ambassadors across the country to activate the campaign in their home cities. Ambassadors included actor and philanthropist Adrian Grenier, Wholesome Wave board member and D.C.-based chef José Andrés, Chicago-born actor and Academy Award-winning musician and philanthropist Common, LA chef Michael Voltaggio, Emmy-nominated TV host and San Francisco chef Tyler Florence, Miami-based chef Michelle Bernstein and Seattle chef duo Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautureau.
To launch the campaign, we hosted 40 top-tier lifestyle and food editors for a fruit and veggie-forward, farm-to-table lunch in Manhattan. Actor, philanthropist and NYC native Adrian Grenier addressed attendees alongside Wholesome Wave President and James Beard Humanitarian of the Year Michel Nischan about the food desert crisis that affects more than three million New Yorkers. They participated in media interviews and encouraged guests to post fruit and vegetable selfies. That same day, a press release was distributed nationwide.
In the other nine key markets, MullenLowe deployed a series of media relations tactics including:
- Securing morning show interviews for Common on ABC7 Chicago and FOX's Good Day Chicago; Tyler Florence on FOX KTVU San Francisco and KRON-TV; Michelle Bernstein on ABC Miami SoFlo Taste; and José Andrés on CBS WUSA9's Great Day Washington.
- Coordinating appearances at local events including the Chicago's Randolph Street market where Common snapped selfies at the Naked Juice truck and LA's Downtown Art Walk where Michael Voltaggio greeted those who passed by the Naked Juice booth.
- Hosting media interviews with the likes of Bon Appetit, DCist, The Huffington Post, Miami New Times, LA Daily News, Edible Silicon Valley, Civil Eats, The Chicago Tribune and SheKnows.com.
- Identifying nearly 100 like-minded influencers representing the key markets and invited them to post on social.
- Activating an influencer social media effort resulting in many ambassadors over-delivering – posting more times than was expected.
- Monitoring social media channels for organic opportunities including an Everyday with Rachael Ray editor's comment on an influencer's Instagram post. the publication's Instagram account.
In the final weeks of the campaign, MullenLowe secured an integration opportunity on The Ellen Show incorporating an on-air #DrinkGoodDoGood fruit selfie by the woman who once broke Twitter with a selfie, show host Ellen DeGeneres and her guest, the queen of selfies, Kim Kardashian West.
From campaign coverage in top national publications like USA TODAY, The Huffington Post, BuzzFeed and the AOL. homepage to key local outlets including LA Magazine, ABC 7 Chicago, New York Daily News and more than 1M views of DrinkGoodDoGood.com and campaign videos, respectively, the #DrinkGoodDoGood campaign secured tremendous buzz throughout its eight-week run. And thanks to the overwhelming support from consumers and local ambassadors across the country more than 50,000 posts were shared, generating 500,000 pounds of fresh produce.
- The campaign inspired consumers and celebrity chefs alike — with organic posts from Emmy award-winning Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio, PBS host and chef Rick Bayless and internationally-recognized French chef Jacques Pépin (who started an Instagram account just so he could participate) — and influencers resulting in nearly 15,000+ fruit and vegetable selfies with #DrinkGoodDoGood.
- The campaign saw significant coverage across media and social securing 400M impressions.
- USA Today called it the "food cause Naked Juice, Adrian Grenier and José Andrés are fighting for."
- #DrinkGoodDoGood was used nearly 50,000 times; triggering the distribution of more than 25,000 Naked Juice coupons.
- Almost immediately following the selfie post from Ellen DeGeneres tagging @KimKardashian, the campaign hashtag became an Instagram trend.
- Campaign ambassadors garnered a social reach of nearly 23M, yielding hundreds of thousands of consumer engagements.
- DrinkGoodDoGood.com received more than 1M visits with the majority coming from NYC and LA.
- Google searches for "Food desert" increased by 65% during the campaign's run.
- Campaign videos saw nearly 1M views.
Video for #DrinkGoodDoGood – Bringing Awareness and Produce to Food Deserts
