As Americans give thanks this long weekend, Campbell Soup in the U.S. is also giving them the chance to give back through a cause-related Pinterest campaign developed by Proximity Canada.
Visitors to the Campbell’s Kitchen recipe site are invited to pin a picture of its iconic green bean casserole until Nov. 30 to help make what the company is calling “the most colossal casserole.”
The image will not only appear on the user’s board but also on a campaign specific Pinterest page. In return for pinning the image, Campbell will donate $1 (the cost of one serving) to Feeding America.
Campbell’s Kitchen is a core part of the company’s digital strategy, said Tyler Turnbull, senior vice-president, strategy and insight at Proximity Canada. Every year around this time, seasonal recipes like the green bean casserole receive a huge spike in traffic, he said.
The casserole, which is made with canned green beans and cream of mushroom soup, has been a Thanksgiving staple since the 1950s when Dorcas Reilly, a Campbell Soup kitchen supervisor, created the recipe for an Associated Press feature. Last year, Campbell estimated that 30 million households would serve the popular dish.
While Campbell’s Kitchen may be the destination for seeking out recipes, Turnbull said visitors weren’t sharing these recipes with family and friends. So the goal of this campaign, he said, was to use Pinterest to turn “recipe viewers” into “recipe sharers.”
“We thought it’s a nice campaign for the holidays to get someone who’s already interested in the recipe to give back a charity and also to do something on Pinterest that hasn’t been done before in the form of a full-on takeover,” said Turnbull.
Proximity Canada created a custom Pinterest board so that once the items are pinned they are placed in such a way that they appear to be within a white baking dish. Non-customized boards automatically place pictures left to right. As of press time the board had over 3,300 pins.
Campbell Soup is promoting the effort, which launched earlier this week, through Facebook and Twitter.
