Recently, a major global brand did the unthinkable. A fast food giant told its customers that for one day, it would not be offering its best-selling product.
It gets crazier. The company then asked its customers for that day to go to its chief competitor.
According to GRITDAILY:
This September in Argentina, Burger King launched a campaign called a ‘Day Without Whopper,’ where it stopped selling their top-selling product, The Whopper, for a day in order to re-direct and increase sales to McDonald’s. But why would the two fiercest burger competitors join forces?
The reason to initiate the campaign was to help McDonald’s with their annual fundraising campaign of donating $2 to Children With Cancer for every Big Mac and signature burger that they sell.
Marketing strategy? Absolutely. But one done for a good cause. It’s resonated well on social media. While it probably won’t produce a huge spike in revenue in the short term, it will probably produce long-term good vibes for the burger chain.
Plus, consumers are big on brand engagement in charitable causes. More and more commercials are geared toward how brands are working to change communities or be a positive force on the global stage.
What would this look like in the healthcare space? What if a major brand like Johnson & Johnson lent its social media platform or services to support the cause of a competitor? What if Medtronic encouraged team members to support a charity of another organization for a day?
What are some marketing campaigns that you’ve seen successful cross over into charitable causes?