The Great American Milk Drive is celebrating its one-year anniversary. Over the last year, the program has helped deliver much-needed milk donations coast to coast in partnership with retailers and milk processors across the country. The innovative and customizable program drives donations to local area Feeding America food banks, builds shopper and community loyalty and generates incremental sales of milk.
June will be a key activation period for the program with the arrival of National Dairy Month.
MilkPEP (Milk Processor Education Program) offers retailers a variety of turnkey tools and resources they can put into action to support The Great American Milk Drive year-round, tapping into key periods throughout the year such as National Dairy Month in June, Hunger Action Month in September and the holiday season, when one-third of annual giving happens.
With this strategy, MilkPEP says it can help retailers engage shoppers and positively impact their sales, while supporting an important cause. A number of milk companies and retailers have seen the program succeed in store, and MilkPEP says it looks forward to continuing this program in 2015 and beyond.
How the program works for retailers
1. Drives incremental sales of milk gallons and new consumer foot traffic.
2. Ability to customize for each retailer with turnkey assets for checkout programs and beyond.
3. Year-round program supported with national MilkPEP advertising and marketing that retailers can activate any time.
4. Builds community connection, with local donations directly impacting the store’s community.
5. Gives retailers a unique cause to incorporate into their long-term strategy.
Here are some ways retailers can take part in The Great American Milk Drive and encourage shoppers to give back to their local communities:
• On-site parking lot events: Host a donation event in the parking lot of the store, giving shoppers the chance to instantly purchase an extra gallon of milk.
• Check-out programs: Encourage shoppers to purchase an extra gallon of milk for a family in need while at the check-out counter. Through consumer research, MilkPEP found that the grocery checkout counter is key—and the preferred touch point for donation collection.
• Match programs: Overlay an in-store event with a limited-time match. Retailers should pair with their local milk processor partner and match every donation or gallon bought.
• Online extensions: Retailers can create their own “drive” on their store website, or social media promotions to encourage consumer participation.
• Donation rewards: Retailers should make a donation to the program on behalf of their shoppers when they complete a task such as signing up for a store loyalty card.
MilkPEP also offers customizable programs and POS materials that can be used all year long, along with additional resources retailers can use to drive awareness, donations and sales of milk to benefit their local Feeding America food bank.
Interested retailers can visit gotmilksales.org to learn more about how they can work with MilkPEP to create their own successful activation for The Great American Milk Drive.
Kroger ‘Pours it Forward’
In 2014, MilkPEP teamed up with Kroger for a three-week in-store partnership during September (National Hunger Action Awareness Month) called “Pour it Forward.” More than 1,600 Kroger stores across the country promoted The Great American Milk Drive with in-store signage and tear pads that allowed shoppers to choose a donation at checkout of $1, $3 or $5 to have added to their grocery bill. In-store marketing support included: front-of-store banners, cooler clings at the dairy case, table tents, stanchion sings in high-traffic areas and cashier stickers with the donation ask. The retail partnership also was promoted on social/digital throughout its duration.
The local donations generated significant participation among Kroger shoppers, resulting in more than 100,000 gallons of milk donated to The Great American Milk Drive, which drove more than $400,000 in incremental milk gallon sales. Given the program’s success, Kroger is planning its 2015 program for The Great American Milk Drive.
Kroger was one of the first retail partners to bring the innovative program to its stores to help lift fluid milk sales without discounting, drive foot traffic in store and bring in new customers by doing good, according to MilkPEP.
“The Great American Milk Drive is a turnkey program to activate at our stores and we’re proud to help benefit our local community in partnership with Feeding America. It’s easy to customize the program with MilkPEP’s tools, resources and national advertising and marketing support to amplify our efforts,” said Joel Crowder, senior director at Kroger. “We see The Great American Milk Drive as a long-term partnership that benefits our business and community.”