The Brief

Many corporations in Korea gain the benefits of a positive public image through donation activities. If, then, monetary benefits were also ensured with every donation made, wouldn’t this fuel the participation rate in donation activities? A megastore with 1.6 million customers on any given day, stocked with products from more than 4000 brands, Home plus decided to turn this enormous sales market into a valuable donation market.

Describe how the promotion developed from concept to implementation

Homeplus put stickers said ‘1% of sales is donated for purchase of this product.’ selectively on those products manufactured by the participants of this campaign. Customers are always faced with the choice of selecting from several brand names when buying a certain product. By choosing to purchase products with the donation stickers on them, customers can become an invaluable participant of a donation activity through none other than the simple action of purchasing everyday necessities. These stickers altered consumer buying behaviors and induced an increase in sales, to which more and more suppliers voluntarily participated, thus creating a virtuous cycle.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

More than 10million customers had participated in the campaign for 4 months, with the total amount of the donations adding up to 1.2billion won. The number of campaign participating suppliers has increased from 10 to 203. The media reported of the ‘Cart for Saving Lives’ campaign promoted by Homeplus, and customers voluntarily spread the campaign through SNSs, personal blogs. In March 2012, Homeplus was ranked as no.1 in monthly sales putting the all-time champion to defeat. Above all, 33 children with leukemia are now leading new lives thanks to the financial support provided through this fund (up to June, 2012).

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

Homeplus is a retail brand which means people purchase something every day. This method did not ask people to make a donation or do another charity work but it made their purchasing which they do normally at Homeplus become a donation for good. Consumers can feel good about themselves because their shopping become a donation automatically. Total 203 suppliers voluntarily participate in this donation program as their products would be considered as good minded ones by consumers. Homeplus gain a positive public image of being a huge supporter for children with leukemia which leads a respect from consumers.