Largemouth PR Campaign to Raise Money for Military Featured in PRWeek

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Created on Thursday, 15 December 2011 00:00

Top trade article highlights Kangaroo Express Salute Our Troops Campaign

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Dec. 15, 2011 – Largemouth Communications, a full-service public relations firm, was featured in an article in PRWeek, the primary trade publication for the public relations profession. The article outlines, in case study format, the Salute Our Troops campaign and "Roo Cup" promotions which Largemouth coordinated on behalf of The Pantry, which owns and operates more than 1,600 Kangaroo Express convenience stores in 13 states.

Retired military paratrooper skydives into the amphitheater during the $2.5 million check presentation ceremony.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, Kangaroo Express, along with Salute Our Troops presenting sponsor PepsiCo, invited store guests to make $1 donations toward its $1 million goal. As part of the campaign, the USO Salute Our Troops Jeep Tour traveled more than 13,500 miles throughout eight states, honoring local military heroes and families in more than 75 local communities along the route. The $1 million goal was achieved in just the first five weeks of the campaign on Independence Day weekend, and the total amount raised throughout the entire campaign was $2.5 million. The donations supported the USO, the Wounded Warrior Project and other military support organizations.

The fully-restored 1952 military Jeep leads a "Walk a Mile in Their Boots" fundraising parade at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, N.C. Our PR Jeep Tour campaign resulted in extensive coverage in local markets, including an average of more than three news stories a day with a total of 113 broadcast stories and 276 print/online stories. Over the summer, the Jeep traveled over 13,500 miles, making stops in over 75 local communities at community events, partner headquarters, military installations and more than 300 Kangaroo Express stores in order to create frequent news pegs and generate community excitement.

To launch the campaign and drive traffic into the stores to make donations, the "Roo Cup" promotion became a viral frenzy. Stores sold a limited number of reusable cups for $6.99 and customers who purchased these cups were able to refill fountain and frozen drinks for free all summer. As stated in the PRWeek article, "250,000 cups sold out in three weeks and sparked extensive online chatter and media coverage. Largemouth CEO Brandon Bryce adds that cups sold for as much as $45 on eBay, and customers posted messages, videos and photos of cups with their own personalized decorations on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube."

The PRWeek article highlighted the accomplishments from the Salute Our Troops campaign and "Roo Cup" promotion: store traffic increased by about 3 million visits, fountain drink sales rose 30 percent, video and photo salutes by customers giving "shout outs" of praise and gratitude to the military surpassed 3,000 and 1,700, respectively, and 518.3 million media impressions were achieved, including an article in The Wall Street Journal and on CNN. Media impressions have continued to rise following check presentations to each of the five beneficiary state-based military support organizations.

"Managing a campaign of this scope is a dream for any PR firm, and the fact that the money raised supported the military makes it even better," said Bryce. "The dedication and talent of Largemouth's employees greatly contributed to the campaign's success, and I'm thrilled that PRWeek recognized its significance and spotlighted our company and Kangaroo Express."

The article concluded with the following "PRWeek View" summary: "The PR team has driven great momentum through well-executed campaigns. It also clearly understands how to align with and drive stakeholder passions. Relationships were certainly deepened, while benefits for the nonprofits and the company were outstanding. Payoff should continue, but this team will likely devise a new campaign long before momentum wanes."

Many more compelling campaigns on behalf of our clients are indeed already in the works!

About Largemouth Communications

Largemouth Communications is a full-service public relations firm focused on providing media relations services to both business-to-business and consumer-facing companies with local, regional, national and global communications needs. Largemouth strives to create public relations programs to meet each client's unique needs by developing strategies through three core communication channels: news media, digital/social media and corporate communications. Largemouth was established in 2005 and serves the Mid-Atlantic region from its headquarters in Research Triangle Park, N.C., with offices in Charlotte and Pittsburgh. For more information, please visit www.largemouthpr.com.