U.S. Apple Association (USApple)

Apples for Education: Buy an Apple, Help a Student

Objective: Launch a social cause campaign resonating with both moms and kids while uniting the education and apple industries to support school programs nationwide.

Campaign: In fall 2015, during peak harvest season, USApple leveraged the indelible connection between apples and education to create a social-media driven campaign that encouraged individuals across the country to help raise funds for student causes in need by asking fans to share apple snacking photos on Instagram or Apples4Ed.com using the hashtag #Apples4Ed.

Consumers were able to discover and vote for the student causes they supported out of 12 pre­selected causes found on Apples4Ed.com. School districts large and small from coast to coast were represented — mostly in low-income communities and with projects ranging from robotics programs to playground revitalization to school gardens to classroom iPads.

Results: USApple raised $20,000 for school donations. By campaign’s end, the cause with the most votes received the top-tier donation from USApple, with all other causes receiving a portion of the remaining donations. Weekly drawings for Apple gift cards incentivized participation­ and winners’ selected school causes got another $100. Strategic apple-pairing partners (Marzetti Caramel, KIND Snacks, Roth Cheese and Johnsonville Sausage) were involved. Partners, schools and supporters were armed with a “toolkit” of social content and other ideas to extend the campaign’s reach and inspire participation among friends and followers.