Retail Food Group launches ad campaign to raise $1 million for national children’s charity HeartKids
Partnering with national children’s charity HeartKids, Retail Food Group (RFG) will launch a campaign on Sunday 1 August to raise over $1 million to support families with kids who suffer from heart defects. The partnership represents the first time the six RFG brands – Donut King, Michel’s Patisserie, Brumby’s Bakeries, Brumby’s GO!, bb’s cafe and Big Dad’s Pies – have come together for one campaign.
VIEW THE COMMERCIAL:
A portion of the sales from special HeartKids treats sold at RFG’s 1,100+ stores in August will go to HeartKids Australia. This will be the first fundraising initiative of a 12-month national fundraising campaign.
Childhood Heart Disease is the number one cause of infant death inAustralia. It takes double the number of children’s lives lost tocancer. Heart defects range from holes in the heart to children beingborn with only one chamber.
RFG chief marketing officer Tracey Catterall said the fundraiser wouldbe supported by an advertising campaign from agency BCM, which includedtelevision, radio, magazine and local area marketing campaigns. Shesaid stores would also be promoting the fundraiser through a robustpoint-of-sale strategy: “Retail Food Group stores across Australia willbe decked out in heart themes, including heart balloons, posters andcreative product displays to really create some noise and grabattention in shopping precincts,” she said.
“HeartKids needs every cent they can get to help not only supportfamilies but also to find cures to ensure these children have healthyfutures, and we are proud to be supporting them.
“We’ve been extremely lucky that all our creative suppliers have reallygotten behind us and even donated some of their time to make sure wehave every potential of reaching our $1 million dollar goal.
“But the real credit needs to go to our franchisees out at our stores,who are waving the HeartKids flag loud and proud. Our franchisees arereally excited to be supporting HeartKid, and we have literally beeninundated with calls from asking what else they can do to support sucha worthy cause.”
The advertising campaign uses a black and white image of a little girlnamed Madison who was born with Childhood Heart Disease. Madison wasborn with only two heart chambers, instead of four. Madison isnine-years-old and has had three open heart surgeries since she wasborn.
Up to $1 from each HeartKids Combo in August will be donated toHeartKids. The HeartKids Combo varies between the retailers andincludes:
· Donut King: A regular coffee and heart donut
· Michel’s Patisserie: A small coffee and heart cupcake or heart lamington
· Brumby’s Bakeries: A sandwich loaf and four heart cupcakes
· Brumby’s Go!: A regular coffee and heart slice
· bb’s cafe: A small coffee and heart muffin
· Big Dad’s Pies: A pie and heart lamington
HeartKids Australia is a charity devoted to supporting the needs ofchildren and families affected by Childhood Heart Disease and fundingmuch needed research.
Retail Food Group is Australia’s leading retail food brand manager andfranchisor and owns the Donut King, Michel’s Patisserie, Brumby’sBakeries, Brumby’s Go!, Big Dad’s Pies and bb’s cafe franchisesystems. There are more than 1,100 stores in the RFG network acrossAustralia and New Zealand.
8 Comments
Um…all the sponsors of this wonderful organisation make food that will give you a heart attack. Is it just me or is there a major disconnect?
Alcohol… sport.
Tobacco… sport, and outdoor ‘freedom’ imagery.
Fast food… slim, attractive people.
Pre-prepared food in jars during MasterChef.
Brands have been using completely counter-intuitive associations for years.
Because it works.
I noticed they didn’t employ the black and white technique to the food as well. I guess it wouldn’t have done all the artificial colouring in the food justice.
A bit like BAT doing a fundraiser for cancer patients.
Thank goodness there are large companies like this who are willing to give exposure too and raise funds for this wonderful organisation.
Regardless one donut, lamington or cup cake is not going to give you a heart attack, but a $1 donation will help a very worthy organisation.
As the mum of a heart kid, I know that a cup cake did not cause his illness, he was born that way. Please support a wonderful idea to raise funds for a very worthy cause.
This is a great example of self-protective PR, donating to a very worthwhile cause, to hide behind a sort of invincibility clause. Why could they not make large donations, without the advertising and trying to increase sales of their junk?? This is not altruism. It is marketing.
As a heartkid mum, regardless whether its marketing, that 1 million dollars raised will go to helping many distraught families who are losing children everyday to this disease, thank god someone is helping us. Surely that’s a positive thing!
Bad food does not cause Childhood Heart Disease, they are born that way. I should know as my son is a Heart kid. Donuts and cakes are treats – yes junk but TREATS.
Heart kids are a great cause.