General
Mills generosity
A leading food company, General Mills has currently
has 100+ brands in over 100 countries (Cheerios
Can Help Reduce Cholesterol 10 Percent in One Month, 2009). General Mills
has long been to giving back to the community in which they operate through charitable
corporate contributions. One of the organization’s many effective cause-related
promotions is Yoplait’s ‘Save Lids to Save Lives’ initiative for breast cancer.
The organization recently committed to donating 10 cents to Susan G. Komen for each lid received and each code entered by the end of June (Save Lids to Save
Lives, 2012). This type
of philanthropy, which is tied to the purchase of a General Mills product, has
done wonders to both align the organization with an important cause and
increase General Mills product sales. However, it is their classic brand of
whole wheat cereal that has been exceptionally successful at promoting a
specific cause simply through strategic, persuasive advertising and public
relations tactics.
Whole
grain goodness
Cheerios has been around since the 1950’s and has become synonymous with helping to lower
cholesterol because of the soluble fiber
contained in the whole grain ‘O’ shaped cereal. As we’ve learned, corporate
cause promotion is the practice of raising awareness about a social cause in an
attempt to leverage support. Cheerios is all about preventative health care and
its link to heart health in particular has helped increase consumer awareness
and support of this growing brand.
Communicating
heart health
The cereal box says it
all. Cheerios boxes display the American Heart Association’s certification,
marked by a “heart healthy” check, which means that the cereal meets their criteria for cholesterol and saturated fat content. Additionally,
Cheerios boxes display the heart-shaped bowl of cereal with some sort variation
of a statement about how the whole grain oats help to lower cholesterol,which
further helps to raise awareness about the cause.
Through blatant
advertising, Cheerios promotes its heart healthy attributes in many of its
television commercials, such as this one of an older couple discussing how the
cereal lowers cholesterol:
Although Cheerios is not
officially an ongoing partner of the American Heart Association, their
involvement with its charitable events throughout the years has created a
constant implied tie that has become ingrained in the minds of its consumers.
For example, Cheerios is one of the national supporters for
the American Heart Association’s My Heart. My Life. healthy living initiative. There is a code
found on specially marked boxes of Cheerios, and for each code entered, the
cereal brand will donate one dollar to the Association from now until January,
2014 (Cheerios
supports the American Heart Assocation, 2013).
When you land on the
corporate website, you can’t help but be bombarded with cholesterol-related
information, tips on how to live a healthy lifestyle and detailed information
on how their line of cereal helps promote a healthy heart (Cheerios, 2013). Not only that, but the
website targets toddlers and how Cheerios is both a healthy and “easy
to grasp” finger food while they are developing feeding skills.
A common tactic for any
cause marketing campaign is to publish research conducted on the issue and
present motivating facts (COMM
4849 Fund Development and Corporate Philanthropy, 2013). A 2008 independent
study is published on their website of Canadian pediatricians showed that 4 out
of 5 pediatricians recommend Cheerios for their infant or toddler (A nutritious cereal for all ages, Cheerios* cereal is good
for adults too, 2010), which further emphasizes the product’s heart healthy
ingredients. Again, promoting heart health from an early age; a preventative
measure. Further capitalizing on effective public relations tactics, Cheerios
promoted the results of a research study via a press release with strategic
quotes, such as, “Now when people enjoy the No. 1 cereal in America they can feel confident
they are taking a positive step towards getting healthier by helping to lower
their cholesterol”(Bloomberg,
para. 5).
Cheerios
Fuels Success
Many consumers associate this popular breakfast
cereal, which tastes somewhat like cardboard in my opinion, to a healthy heart and
it is commonly viewed as a healthy way to start your day. Cheerios has done
such a successful job at aligning its brand with heart health and low
cholesterol that the General Mills franchise has expanded to include 13 different varieties of Cheerios and is still growing. The brand capitalizes
on effective public relations tactics by conducting research studies and
disseminating press releases of the results. Cause support through advertising,
such as the American Heart Association’s My Heart. My Life. healthy living
initiative, helps to persuade people to donate money to the cause and eat heart
healthy food. In addition, strategic advertising and messaging on Cheerios
boxes, its corporate website and through commercials have helped to effectively
promote its cause; low cholesterol and healthy hearts.
It is evident that Cheerios’s alignment with heart
health has made it an increasingly profitable brand for General Mills and has
also raised awareness for the cause. The cereal market is saturated and
becoming associated with a worthy, health-conscious cause has provided Cheerios
with a competitive advantage. Ideally, Cheerios will help to change negative,
unhealthy behaviours into positive behaviours through its marketing initiatives
by encouraging people to eat low cholesterol foods and become active. This
change in behaviour will only further benefit Cheerios because more people will
be inclined to purchase Cheerios due to its well-known tie to heart health
as well as its support of the American Heart Association.
This cause has been adopted seamlessly into all of
Cheerio’s promotional campaigns and charitable initiatives, which makes it hard for other cereal brands to
attempt to replicate it. It has not created a financial burden for the brand,
nor has it required additional time and resources - it has simply become part of its ongoing branding. All things considered, the
benefits of continuing to align Cheerios with low cholesterol and heart health-related causes
outweigh any potential hindrances.
