In a time when consumers are making more and more of their brand decisions based on the values that those brands express, how do you make your corporate responsibility initiatives rich, engaging, authentic and meaningful in the marketplace? That was the challenge that Compass Group faced. They hired Share More Stories to build a solution that would bring together clients, consumers and partners in a community based on the shared value of eliminating food waste in the United States.

Because of the scale of this community, as well as its geographical diversity, Share More Stories developed and launched an online community that served as a platform for engagement across three states. The program focused on sourcing high-impact stories from employees, clients, consumers and nonprofit partners through a gift card promotion. Community members were asked to share stories from their own, personal experiences, about what food has meant in their lives. We used IBM Watson Analytic tools to analyze the stories and more deeply understand underlying wants and needs related to food waste and recovery.

In addition, Share More Stories built a branded, digital storytelling campaign to highlight Compass Group’s interest in food waste and recovery. Using stories from early participants, we were able to distribute content, including developing and placing branded videos about this community that Compass Group was developing. This amplified the reach of this community and built the audience.

Compass Group and Share More Stories were pleased with the results. Site visits grew an average of 10% week over week. Their site visit duration was 67% higher than industry site benchmarks; 25% higher than online community site benchmarks; and 25% higher than charity and philanthropy site benchmarks. We were also pleased with social engagement, which finished at 14% on Facebook and 49% on Instagram. Perhaps most importantly, the stories that were collected and analyzed help Compass Group identify shared experiences related to successful corporate responsibility partnerships and initiatives. The company met or exceeded all of its engagement goals for the program and is using the findings to strengthen business development and community engagement.

Insights. Ideas. Experience. Compass Group now has the deeper understanding they needed to build the business and more relevantly connect with consumers and customers.

Related Information:

Food For Thought Community