Marketing for Change: Supporting and Growing Social Movements at Ben & Jerry’s

In this article, I’ll be sharing my experiences as Assistant US Marketing Manager at Ben & Jerry’s - a Unilever brand - and how we use marketing tools to drive positive social change.

We’ve all had that experience when you’re walking down the street, and out of nowhere, you’re approached by a friendly-faced canvasser looking for donations. How many of us have looked down at our phones and walked in a wide arc around them? The truth is, no one wants to be bombarded with asks, no matter how noble the cause. Instead, we want it to be easy to act in support of our beliefs. And that’s where brands like Ben & Jerry’s have an opportunity.

For-profit entities are powerful social agents. When companies use their marketing megaphones to support nonprofit partners, they can deliver valuable amplification to social movements. Of course, it helps if you already have an established voice and trusted products. And throwing in a few free scoops of Ben & Jerry’s never hurts.

At Ben & Jerry’s, our consumers believe in our causes as much as we do because they love our ice cream, trust our activist roots and share our ambition to change the world for the better. Over the past four decades of business we’ve learned how to invite our aspiring activist fans into social movements. Here’s how.

Ben & Jerry’s: Making the Hard Work of Changing the World A Little Sweeter

Ben & Jerry’s has deep roots in the music industry, where we’ve learned the power of pairing euphoric experiences with opportunities to make the world a better place. Two popular flavors, Cherry Garcia and Phish Food, were created in honor of Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead and the rock band Phish respectively, and have a dedicated following. At musical events, we give away ice cream while inviting our fans to learn more about, and take action in support of, our activist campaigns.

Whether we’re talking with our fans about climate change, LGBTQ rights, voter registration or racial equity, partnership with effective nonprofits is essential. Working with organizations that specialize in festival activation like HeadCount and Reverb allows Ben & Jerry’s to focus on delivering a great Fan experience on site, while the partner provides messaging about a cause and associated action. When we’re registering voters or encouraging fans to take a quiz about poverty in the United States, festival-goers are drawn in with free ice cream flavors they know and love, and leave with both a delicious experience and having learned more about a social cause.

Scooping Up Second Chances

Until this November, Florida was one of only four US states that denied citizens convicted of a felony the ability to vote once they completed their sentence. That meant that 1.4 million of our friends, family members and neighbors were being denied a second chance and a voice in our democracy. As a company committed to social equity, Ben & Jerry’s needed to act, and we believed we could have a meaningful impact on Floridian’s support for the “Yes On 4” effort.

Our support for the Second Chances Campaign included both digital and experiential tactics. On the digital front, we used paid social media, email and text communications, and digital petitions to target a receptive audience and grow a base of support for the Campaign. On the ground, we shared information in our 22 Scoop Shops, handed out free Ben & Jerry’s at more than 60 Yes On 4 events, and even put a scoop truck on the road for three weeks, crisscrossing the state encouraging fans to vote Yes On 4.

After handing out more than 20,000 free scoops, we were thrilled to learn Amendment 4 had passed on November 6th,  2018. Now that the amendment has been approved by voters, the US will see the largest enfranchisement of citizens since the Civil Rights Act of 1965 – an incredible result. We’re thrilled to have done our small part to support the Second Chances Campaign and its partners, and to help generate meaningful change.

SEO-driven Awareness

Our activism campaigns are amplified by powerful digital methodologies, increasing our reach and ensuring we’re delivering our message to the right audience. For example, organic visits are our biggest source of traffic to our website, where we educate our fans about our Social Mission campaigns and encourage them to take action. That means our digital fundamentals like SEO (Search Engine Optimization) need to be top-notch.

Before publishing a single piece on our website about a new campaign, we start by working with our SEO agency to understand search behavior related to our social mission campaigns. The agency delivers a report on search trends and a list of priority keywords – the building blocks for website traffic. Next, our content creators leverage agency research to incorporate keywords in the content we publish on our website, ensuring our posts appear in search results for queries related to our campaigns. Finally, we’ll monitor our rank for priority keywords, and then optimize content for continuous improvement.

Attention to digital fundamentals pays off. In 2016, for example, we published an article called 7 Ways We Know Systemic Racism is Real, which is now the second hit on Google when you search for the term ‘systemic racism’. Marketers that want to change the world for the better will find enormous power in the tools they already possess.

A Better World, Powered By Brands With Purpose

Consumers identify with and support companies that share their values. By offering fans the power to create meaningful change, Ben & Jerry’s has established mutually beneficial relationships with consumers that go far beyond a transaction. We’re co-creators of a better world, who share a passion for fun, flavor, and euphoric experiences.

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