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IGA Announces Its New Cause Marketing Partner

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Last updated on February 14th, 2017 at 11:52 am

by Lorrie Griffith/editor-in-chief

IGA USA revealed its new cause marketing partner at its 2017 Global Rally, Feb. 10-12 in Las Vegas.

The new partner is Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, an organization that is summed up best by its tagline, according to President and CEO Marcia Lee Taylor: Where families find answers.

The organization offers support and guidance, in several forms, to families struggling with their son or daughter’s substance use.

This alliance with Partnership for Drug-Free Kids marks IGA’s first initiative under IGA Cares, the new umbrella brand for all IGA cause marketing programs.

It’s also a first for Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: IGA is its first grocery partner.Partnership-DFKidsLogo

“We are delighted to partner with IGA,” Taylor tells The Shelby Report. “The whole team has been so receptive to taking on our cause. We know that the drug issue isn’t always one that’s easy to talk about, so we really give them credit for embracing this cause and understanding that this is something that is causing so much pain and heartache among so many families across the nation. The Partnership has resources to help those families, and IGA is helping make that connection, so we are very grateful for their support.”

IGA’s previous cause marketing partner was Wounded Warrior Project, for which IGA raised more than $1.2 million from 2011-15.

While IGA will raise money to benefit Partnership for Drug-Free Kids as well, there is another important element to this partnership: awareness of the services Partnership for Drug-Free Kids offers to families.

And IGA’s communities are some of the most affected by the misuse of substances such as opioids these days. Wayne Altschul, VP of private brands at IGA USA, references a front-page article in the New York Times that shows where opioid usage is growing.

“If you look at that map, that looks like where our stores are,” he says. “We are sitting right on top of where we believe we can help the most.”

According to Taylor, opiates are the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S. today. And 90 percent of addictions begin in adolescence, according to the Partnership.

In the medium-size cities where IGA stores typically operate, resources to help families struggling with drug addiction may not be as readily available as they would be in a big city. And all the Partnership’s resources are free.

The organization’s website offers “tangible tips and tools,” Taylor says, and a toll-free help line is staffed by licensed clinical social workers. In addition, “parent coaches” around the country do one-on-one coaching with families, “helping them to really change that family dynamic so there are less slamming doors and more productive conversations.”

In addition to raising awareness of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids’ resources for families, IGA also hopes to erase, or at least lessen, the stigma attached to having a son or daughter who is involved in improper or illegal drug use by having signage and other materials out in the open in its stores.

“Families who are struggling with a substance use disorder face a lot of shame and stigma; it’s not like any other health problem that a family faces,” Taylor says. “It’s not something they can go to their family physician and necessarily get good answers on; it’s not something they can talk to the neighbors about. They need a place to go where they know they won’t be judged, where they know they’re going to get good, science-based information and they know they’re going to get help for their loved one.”

The rollout

Heidi Huff, director of marketing for IGA USA, says that because of the awareness element of this new partnership, educating IGA’s independent retailers will be a very important first step prior to the in-store launch.

“Because this relationship and this organization is different than what we’ve done in the past, it’s important that we make sure our retailers and their staff have a very clear understanding of what it is that we’re working to accomplish,” Huff says. “We are spending almost the first half of the year educating our retailers.

“The first quarter is about announcing the partnership and then starting to educate the retailers,” she adds. “As we get into the second quarter, we’ll start to release materials to them.”

Retailers can utilize the promotional materials in their stores as they choose and “do a push at any point in time,” she says. “They will know, because they’re so ingrained in their community, when a good time to amp up is.”

During the third quarter—in the back-to-school time frame—will come the IGA private brand product sales element of the partnership.

Altschul says three classes of product will be part of the donations to Partnership for Drug-Free Kids: IGA private brand bottled water, hamburger and hot dog buns, and ice cream.

The donations will come from suppliers’ charitable giving funds, he adds.

IGA has committed to raise at least $200,000 in the first year of the partnership.

In addition to the private brand sales percentage, a pennant program will let shoppers get involved in the giving. At checkout, shoppers can give in dollar increments such as $1, $3 or $5. The shopper can sign a card that will be posted on store windows or other designated areas, similar to various other fundraising campaigns.

At the local IGA store, shoppers will see signage about the Partnership and its resources, driving them to visit the website (drugfree.org) for more information. If the store has a pharmacy, the campaign would involve the pharmacist, too, Huff says.

Promotional kits for retailers also contain items like stanchion signs and brochures/bag stuffers.

“Cashiers can put those (brochures) right in the bag so people can look at that at home,” Huff says. “Or little cards that they can grab to get a website or a phone number. Awareness is our big goal.”

Materials will shift topics during the year, based on seasons and specific issues families might be facing, she notes.

“Like when kids are getting back into school and the stress starts up again—tests, etc. We’re looking at some different campaigns to share the message and get the attention of shoppers who may be experiencing that within their own families or they know somebody who is,” Huff says.

She says IGA retailers also will be encouraged to speak to community groups like PTAs/PTOs and booster clubs about Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.

Altschul adds, “Our store owners believe in giving back to our communities, and as such, they’re involved in local organizations, whether it’s the school board or the VFW or the town board or whatever it is. Because of that, they can be extremely influential and helpful in spreading this word.”

Anyone who would like to donate to Partnership for Drug-Free Kids can do so by texting KIDS to 56512.

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