A Challenge for Kroger's Anti-Hunger Campaign

Digital campaigns are fast becoming the backbone of marketing, and while most grocers have social media pages that share the latest sale or promotion, one rarely hears about a retailer's philanthropic efforts going viral.

However, The Kroger Co. appears to be trying to do just that with the launch of its #ZeroHungerZeroWaste challenge that encourages shoppers to share pictures of food that they donate to their local food banks and tag a friend to challenge them to do the same. The initiative is part of the retailer's goal to eliminate hunger in its communities, along with food waste, by 2025.

This type of viral challenge for good has seen wild success in recent years, including the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise awareness for ALS, which generated the support of citizens and celebrities alike. While it remains to be seen if Kroger will be able to get people as hyped about food donations, which is indeed a noble cause, the big retailer might want to take a page from the books of some of most effective social media campaigns by infusing a bolder approach to promote the effort in ways to generate consumer interest and action.

While the challenge has only been live for about a week, it doesn't seem to be gaining much traction on social media -- at least not as much as the retailer's new Apeel longer-lasting avocados it will soon be carrying, as WGB reported last week. 

Related:Kroger to Stock Longer-Lived Avocados to Combat Food Waste

The reason I offer this friendly advice is because I believe Kroger's digital anti-hunger campaign has the potential to become something really big if promoted correctly, and I'd frankly love to see it reach its full potential. To accomplish this, I would advise Kroger to give the challenge a fighting chance of going viral by promoting it much more aggressively with eye-catching images and sharing posts of those who have participated, even if means enlisting associates to get the ball rolling.

Additionally, I would toss a challenge of my own back at Kroger to come up with a more creative, catchy hashtag rather than the long and semi-bland #ZeroHungerZeroWaste, which speaks to the company's larger corporate initiative but not necessarily in a socially superior way. Why not create a hashtag unique to the challenge to allow it to take on a life of its own? 

Regardless, I'm sure the campaign is just the start of what's to come, and I'm pulling for Kroger's challenge to take flight and stimulate a significant uptick in food pantry donations.