Stanfield’s: A “Brief” Success

Nowadays, it’s unusual to find a company or brand that isn’t associated with a specific charity. Most companies see it as their social responsibility to raise money and awareness for charitable programs or organizations. Not only does this provide the company and it’s employees with a sense of fulfillment or pride as they support a good cause, but it also helps create a positive perception among consumers. With so many companies supporting different causes, how do brands stand out and generate consumer support? By engaging them on social media, of course.

A recent example of a company that used social media to support a charitable organization was Stanfield’s. Stanfield's is a small, Canadian company that sells undergarments to men. With the help of ad agency, John St., Stanfield’s created a social media campaign called “The Gitchhiker”. The campaign followed a testicular cancer survivor, Mark McIntyre, as he hitchhiked across Canada wearing nothing but Stanfield’s underwear. If he made it from coast to coast within 21 days, Stanfield’s promised to donate $20,000 to the Canadian Cancer Society. To create brand engagement, Stanfield's encouraged consumers to visit their Facebook page and website. Visitors could use these sites to donate money to the cause, as well as give Mark gifts, challenge him to dares, and offer him rides or a place to stay during his trip. All of this worked together to help raise money and awareness for cancer research.

A screenshot of Stanfield's Facebook page during "The Gitchhiker" campaign.

The campaign was a huge success, as it helped raise over $30,000 for the Canadian Cancer Society. In addition to this, it generated 47 million social media impressions, and Stanfield’s sales increased by 50%. The campaign also received attention from traditional media outlets as well, as many local news programs featured stories on Mark as he travelled through their towns.

There are multiple reasons why this campaign was successful. To begin with, it engaged and entertained consumers, as they were able to follow and participate in Mark’s journey every step of the way. Once consumers started following his story, they couldn’t help but want to see how his trip would end, thus creating brand loyalty. Although one of the campaign goals was to raise money and awareness for cancer research, Stanfield’s itself benefited from the campaign, as they were promoted the entire duration of Mark's trip. Any time consumers saw Mark in the news, watched his video blogs, or followed his updates on Facebook, they were being exposed to the underwear brand. This ultimately helped Stanfield’s generate a positive brand image among consumers across the country.

"The Gitchhiker" campaign is an excellent example of a small, Canadian company using social media to support a good cause. Although the campaign was time consuming and had to be constantly monitored, it was still relatively inexpensive to produce, as it relied on consumer participation to be successful. While this form of customer engagement can be risky, as Stanfield’s proved, by creating a unique social media campaign to support a charitable organization, it can help boost a brand's sales and public image. 

Source: http://vimeo.com/59412129