Professional Documents
Culture Documents
How we reached
a new demographic
by giving to a
good cause
90 million media
impressions
50% increase in sales
$85,000 donated to
cancer research
The Problem
As an older underwear company based out of a small town,
Stanfields had become your
dads underwear brand, largely
unknown to young consumers.
As of 2010, the company had
almost no following, mentions,
or engagement on social media.
Radian6 tracking showed zero
mentions of the brand online.
The Solution
The overall strategy consisted of three marketing campaigns: The Guy At Home In His Underwear,
Gitchhiker, and Streak Week. Each campaign combined an average joe figure, a fun idea, and an element
of corporate social responsibility. In practice, this meant having a cancer survivor in his underwear,
meeting people, living life, and raising money for cancer research, all with the goal of raising Stanfields
profile online.
Meet Mark
In 2007, Mark McIntyre was
diagnosed with testicular cancer.
I was an exception at 38, he
said. Testicular cancer typically affects younger men, aged
15-29. Mark auditioned for
the role, after hearing about it
from his agent. While I am an
actor, I never acted any of it,
he explained. My story was all
true. Being a performer was just
handy as it made it a bit easier
for me as I was used to attention and cameras. I was also a
Strategy:
For every Facebook like received during the
campaign, one dollar was donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
The campaigns dedicated website was one of
the first in Canada to tie a corporate social
responsibility component to a Facebook like.
Mark updated followers with a daily recap
video and blog on the campaigns site.
Direct donations could also be made through
a branded donation page tied to the Canadian
Cancer Societys back-end donation platform.
Results:
It was the fastest growing branded Facebook
page in Canada, with 52,000 new Facebook
fans in just 25 days.
The Globe and Mail called it the best social
media stunt the country has seen, with over
$52,000 raised for the cause.
Viewers tuned in for over three million
minutes of live streaming, over six years of
viewing time.
The campaign concluded with over 1.3
million page views and over 43 million media
impressions.
Gitchhiker (2012)
Hitchhiking in nothing but his gitch, Mark McIntyre was on a race against time to get from BC all the
way across Canada to Standfields headquarters in Truro, Nova Scotia. If he succeeded, Stanfields had
promised to rip him a fat cheque of $25,000 for below-the-belt cancer research. That was his mission: 21 days in 21 pairs of underwear. McIntyres Planes, Trains & Automobiles-esque journey included
hitching a ride in a Saskatchewan Correctional Services van, riding the subway in Toronto, off-road
luging in Calgary, all while cameramen followed him in a van aptly named The Gitchmobile.
Strategy:
The campaign used a custom application to
serve as a hub for fans. It included:
Status updates with pictures
Results:
Over 8,000 km travelled
$27,000 donated by Stanfields and $32,398
raised in total, including donations from fans
and a Playmate.
Strategy:
Stanfields encouraged Canadians to organize
their own streak week, rewarding a free pair of
underwear for every $50 raised.
Stanfields donated $1 for every tweet with the
hashtag #streakweek, up to $25,000.
One-minute YouTube videos recapped each day
Direct donations were made through a branded donation page tied to the Canadian Cancer
Societys back-end donation platform.
Results:
They achieved their goal of $25,000, but the
campaign was not as successful as planned. Stanfields has since transitioned to a new agency
with a new brand message. Streak Week may
not have worked as well, said Mark McIntyre.
It was clear that it just didnt have the same
magic. I suspect that everyone involved knew
that a different approach would be needed in
the future.