In the fight against AIDS, (RED) — founded in 2006 by Bono and Bobby Shriver — is using social media to drive foot-traffic, awareness, and donations with the help of some well-known celebrities.
Created to help provide a sustainable flow of money from the private sector to fight AIDS, (RED) has raised over $240 million to date through the sale of (RED) products from iconic companies such as Apple and Starbucks and from (RED) events. With 100% of that money going to work on the ground, they are continually working to find ways to rally support.
Their current EAT (RED). DRINK (RED). SAVE LIVES. campaign has select restaurants, food trucks, and bars coming together to raise proceeds from food and drinks for the mission. This campaign, running from June 1 through June 10, is creating quite the social media storm in many ways.
Garnering the Power of Influencers
To help spread the word, (RED) has created a plethora of content featuring well-known restaurant owners, chefs, and TV personalities. To continue to reach fans with these well-known faces, the brand has allowed “takeovers” of their social media accounts. For example, Mario Batali, one of the most recognized and respected chefs worldwide, took to their Twitter account to share about his restaurants and the (RED) mission, and answer questions from Twitter users.
Fans enjoyed getting the chance to talk to Batali, and (RED) benefited from getting in front of his 618,000 followers.
Calling for Fan Photo Contributions
Along with engaging with users, Mario Batali also took part in the other piece of the campaign: the #NOMsie. (RED) is encouraging users to take these NOMsies — a selfie of you “nom”ming red food — to gain even more attention around this campaign and the fight against AIDS. Quickly, fans and supporters took to their own accounts to share in the fun.
User-generated content is all the rage right now. This is just another example of how quickly a cause can spread thanks to these more voices joining the conversation.
Creating a Unique Hashtag for the Conversation
Along with the #NOMsie hashtag, the brand has also included a creative and relevant hashtag in their call to action: #86AIDS. While fun hashtags are great for getting fans involved, it’s important to make sure that when conversation is happening, users know exactly what the mission or goal is. With the (RED) conversations, anyone familiar with the restaurant industry knows that when you 86 something, it means that it is no longer available (sold out, no longer on menu, etc). With the play on the term, the campaign is continuing to drive home their mission.
The early results are promising. As more conversation, tweets, and photos come in, we’re assuming the partnering restaurants, food trucks, and bars will also see a growth in traffic. For (RED) and those involved, this seems like a success for the cause and in driving brand awareness.
Remember: While (RED) is a large and well-known brand, all of these applications can be implemented by brands large and small. Have you considered how you can work with influencers and fans to grow support and awareness?