Maxwell House has turned its classic tagline “Good to the Last Drop” into a cause marketing campaign with Rebuilding Together, the nation’s leading nonprofit working to preserve affordable homeownership and revitalize communities.
The Drops of Good campaign aims to revitalize ten in-need community centers in cities across the U.S. The ten centers selected for the campaign will each automatically receive $5,000 towards necessary improvements. Through an online 
consumer voting initiative, the five that receive the most votes will be awarded a total of $50,000 each in renovations. With 17 days still to go, Drops of Good has already tallied nearly one million votes and 48 million media impressions.
Here are a few of the components that have helped make this campaign a success.
WEBSITE:
A robust website dedicated to the Drops of Good campaign makes it easy to cast your vote. The site features descriptions, photos and video of each of the nominated community projects, a running tally of the total number of votes received, rankings so supporters can see how their favorite projects compare to others vote-wise, and, of course, a link back to the Maxwell House homepage for recipes and product information.
LOCALIZATION:
In addition to voting for one of the ten pre-selected community centers, consumers are invited to nominate a local community organization for one of 100 available $1,000 Do-Gooder grants. If they don’t live in one of the cities represented in the larger campaign, this bonus grant gives people the opportunity to help a recreation center, neighborhood park or other community group in their hometown. Of the winners, one local organization will receive a surprise $10,000 grant.
PROMOTIONAL PARTNER:
Maxwell House partnered with popular game show Wheel of Fortune for a “Bonus Round” sponsorship. Beginning on April 18th and running through the end of 2011, each time a contestant on Wheel of Fortune wins the Bonus Round, Maxwell House will donate $2,500 to Rebuilding Together, up to a maximum of $200,000. A microsite at www.wheeloffortune.com keeps a running tally of donations, promotes the Drops of Good campaign and features photos of Bonus Round winning moments. Hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White have also promoted the partnership on-air. Incidentally, $32,500 has been raised through Bonus Round wins in just six weeks.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
As mentioned earlier, part of the campaign calls for consumers to nominate their favorite local organization to receive a Do-Gooder grant. Nominations for this grant are only accepted on the Maxwell House Facebook page, which has gained approximately 100,000 new fans since the start of the campaign.
INCENTIVE FOR VOTING:
Supporters are invited to vote once a day for the community project they want to see win the $50,000 renovation and are asked to share the news with friends. As thanks for casting their first vote, Maxwell House provides an online coupon for $1 off one of its products.
VOLUNTEERING:
Consumers interested in volunteering will have the chance to work on the neighborhood revitalization projects once the five winning community projects are selected this summer. Consumers can also sign up online to volunteer on a number of Rebuilding Together projects.
Note: Rebuilding Together is a client of For Momentum. Rebuilding Together’s network of more than 200 affiliates provides free rehabilitation and critical repairs to the homes of low-income Americans. Learn more about Rebuilding Together’s National Initiatives.
