We’ve seen billboards, posters, commercials, brochures and all manners of print and film being used to spread concern and awareness among the masses about a nationwide campaign. A fast food chain, Arby’s is now making use of today’s most popular form of communication to make their campaign be heard and bring about a new voice or shall we say message for the public to see. In order to promote their nationwide campaign to end childhood hunger, Arby’s has launched the use of SMS to do so.
Starting on 15th August, this SMS campaign is collaboration between the Arby’s Foundation and their partnership with Share Our Strengths No Kid Hungry project. This campaign is set to take place nationwide so as to get as much response as possible and make sure the attention of the masses is achieved.
Kate Atwood, the Executive Director of the Arby’s Foundation in Atlanta proclaims that main goal of this Hungry for Happiness project is to bring about kids to the meals that they need in the summer time since lunch programs in schools are unavailable at this time of the year.
According to the research done by the Arby’s foundation, most houses can afford a mobile phone, even if they cannot afford a home land line number and hence they have come up with a code for such families that they can use via SMS to reach Arby’s.
Arby’s is basically a quick service restaurant in Atlanta with over 3500 branches and the Arby’s Foundation is a nonprofit institution that made donations to the SOSNKH (Share Our Strengths No Kid Hungry) project worth over $2 million in the year 2011.
Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry basically works with all kinds of people and organizations, some of them including mayors, governors, chefs, businesses, federal agencies, education sector and others in order to reach out to children in need by helping them find a way and access to nutrition courses.
SMS Hunger
This year the Arby’s Foundation plans to travel to fifteen different locations to help with the awareness campaign and end this childhood hunger problem. Since schools are closed and there are no lunch programs, the objective of the Foundation is to provide food to children that might only get it while they’re at school.
Hungry for Happiness campaign will also be stopping to give out lunches to kids and teenagers who are under the age of 18, this summer in fifteen cities. Some of these cities include Tampa, Augusta, Salt Lake City and Denver to name a few.
In order to reach out to consumers and tell them about their awareness events, the Foundation has set up an SMS program which is easily reachable. If consumers are interested, they can SMS a code, which is FOOD to the number 877877. Once the message has been sent, the Foundation sends a response message asking for their full address in order to locate a source of nutrition nearby. In the case that an event is not happening within the vicinity of the consumer, they will get a message which will contain a 1-800 number so that they can learn more about happening events. In addition to this initiative, there is also a website if consumers want to know more about this program.
Doug Stovall, Senior VP of sales and client services at Hipcrikcet was quoted as saying that the mode of SMS is an excellent way to reach out to the masses on a national level and is a great tool for local charities because it has the ability to be everywhere. It is also easier to give and receive donations via SMS from consumers because everything is handled within the mobile bill. Messages can also be personalized to fit certain requirements. For example, once the location of the consumer is known, localized messages can be sent for them to be even more motivated.
Education via Mobile
Such an initiative can be a very strong way of spreading awareness for a certain camp and reaching out on a national level. This is also because sending messages is one of the most common features on today’s day and age and consumers have their mobile devices with them almost all the time, especially the younger generation. Arby’s Foundation is not the only one making use of this innovative tool of communication. Jim Beam has also been using an SMS program in order to encourage donations for a summer concert for charity. SMS can also take a campaign to the next level by pushing the consumer to the mobile website, videos, apps and so much more and enhance the experience of the brand for a top notch cause.