Kindness Campaigns: The Best World Kindness Day Ideas From Brands
Even the fanciest marketing strategies and extravagant campaigns feel shallow if they lack empathy – if they lack an emotional element in them. And there is one universal element that can foster emotional connections – kindness. And with World Kindness Day just around the corner, now is the perfect time to explore the power of kindness campaigns.
Not all kindness campaigns are created equal. Some reinforce the brand values. And some are about a bigger cause. Some highlight brand values, while others support a greater cause. Some raise awareness for urgent issues, while others offer a voice of support. The key to success lies in knowing what truly matters to your audience at that moment.
With that in mind, let’s dive into some inspiring kindness campaigns from brands worldwide. Whether you’re preparing for World Kindness Day or simply looking to create stronger bonds with your customers through kindness campaigns, this blog is for you.
World Kindness Day Campaigns: 7 Ideas From Well-Known Brands
The World Kindness Day idea started out with the World Kindness Movement in 1998 as a collaboration of popular kindness NGOs. Today it has evolved into a popular social media holiday celebrated by businesses big and small. Celebrities around the world also make it a habit to share a kind note or a positive message to inspire their fans and followers on this day.
Observed on November 13 every year, this day has evolved into a celebration of goodwill and positivity. With that introduction laid out, let’s now look at some kindness campaigns that showed how brands can positively leverage their influence on their consumers to create a change.
KIND Snacks x Beast Philanthropy
Renowned American snack food company KIND Snacks teamed up with Beast Philanthropy, led by popular YouTuber MrBeast, to spread kindness in a big way. Together, they launched a campaign that provided meals and resources to communities in need.
This was crafted as a large-scale campaign that also attracted other collaborators like Google.org. Eventually, the team organized mass food donations and distribution of resources to those in need.
In short, the drive highlighted the importance of giving back—core to World Kindness Day’s message.
The key fact here is that the idea was simple and the concept was contagious. As a result, it encouraged several more people to join the move. Like the video posted here by popular social media personality Dylan Mulvaney.
Tips to take away from this idea for your kindness campaigns:
- Aim for something simple but impactful so as to attract more participation.
- Collaborate with influencers and local organizations to drive momentum to your kindness campaigns.
When Coca-Cola raised a toast to kindness
One of the best examples to show that kindness campaigns just have to be well-thought-out and meaningful and not necessarily elaborate is Coca-Cola’s World Kindness Day Toast campaign.
The idea was simple yet on-theme: it invited people across the globe to raise a virtual toast to kindness. Scroll through the comments section or even observe the engagement on the Tweet and you’ll understand the magic of a simple gesture.
The post drew engagement from some of the biggest brands in the world and for a brief moment, it did not feel like a marketing war zone out there. Brands supporting each other and cheering each other truly is a fresh idea, a commendable one too!
So, what lessons can you learn from this heart-warming kindness campaign from Coca-Cola?
- Aim for a celebratory and positive tone. Positive emotions, like the one shared by Coca-Cola, are the need of the hour.
- Focus on creating two-way conversations. In this case, Coca-Cola did not merely post an idea but also took time to engage with every brand and user that commented. And that too with a unique and personalized message that felt warm and welcoming.
Bumble’s Kindness is Sexy campaign
The popular dating app Bumble’s Kindness is Sexy campaign is proof of the magic you can create with kindness campaigns that stay relevant to your brand and offerings.
Focusing particularly on their market in India, Bumble came up with a campaign that showed kindness as an attractive trait, particularly in the dating scenario. This is in accordance with their survey that found that about 87% of daters consider kindness as the most important trait when looking for a partner.
The campaign was also a way to introduce their new feature called Compliments where users could send compliments to other users and thus initiate conversations on a positive note.
Let’s now look at a few quick takeaways for kindness campaigns based on this creative campaign from Bumble:
- Align the kindness theme with your brand values. In this case, Bumble’s campaign seamlessly connected with its brand’s core mission—creating respectful, meaningful relationships.
- To stand out in a local market, consider collaborating with local celebrities who have a strong influence over the target market. Here Bumble collaborated with an Indian movie celebrity, Aditya Roy Kapoor in order to make the campaign easier to connect with. This particularly helps brands venturing into foreign markets.
Krispy Kreme sweetening the day with free doughnuts
In celebration of World Kindness Day, Krispy Kreme sweetened the deal by offering two free Original Glazed doughnuts—one for the customer and one for them to share with someone else.
Kindness campaigns like these make it easier to bring customers on board with your campaign. Moreover, by offering free doughnuts, they created a simple yet effective way to encourage acts of kindness and reward their customers as well.
So, what can you learn from this kindness campaign from Krispy Kreme?
- Find a creative way to incorporate your product or service into your kindness campaign.
- Encourage participants to share their experiences on social media to amplify the campaign’s reach. In this case, Krispy Kreme also created a campaign hashtag to allow customers to share their stories and discover other stories.
- Tap into social media to amplify the impact for small-scale holidays like World Kindness Day. Here, the “show this post” component made it easy for customers to participate and made the campaign highly visible on social media, increasing both engagement and store visits.
Johnsonville’s Keep the Internet Juicy
Through their recent campaign, Johnsonville, a popular sausage company, proved that some of the best kindness campaigns are born when brands understand and accommodate the need of the hour. Titled “Keep the Internet Juicy” their campaign was launched on National Positive Media Day (June 22) and is scheduled to run all the way until World Kindness Day.
The brand announced this campaign through a one-page newspaper ad. Yes, they chose a traditional channel to highlight the issue that exists with social media! The ad was not a fancy conventional marketing design. Instead, it detailed the purpose of the campaign and what motivated the brand to come up with it. Throwing the spotlight on the story that encouraged you to do what you do adds more meaning to your campaign and increases the chances of customers relating to your idea and accepting it.
To summarize, Johnsonville found that about 89% of social media users wished that there would be less negativity on social media. To address this, Johnsonville decided to spread more positivity. Through their ad, they invited users to share positive content and vowed to help drive more positivity through their page.
Here’s one such post they shared recently.
Giving a push to content that makes people smile is indeed a great way to celebrate World Kindness Day.
What are some takeaways from this kindness campaign?
- Identify a clear goal for your campaign. In this case, the objective is simple – to tackle the issue of growing negativity in the internet realm by shining the spotlight on positive uplifting content.
- Craft kindness campaigns that seamlessly tie back to your brand messaging. Here the title of the campaign itself (Keep the Internet Juicy) aligns with Johnsonville’s tagline (Keep it Juicy).
Four Seasons trying to make the world a brighter place
For World Kindness Day, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts embraced its core values of empathy and personalized service by launching a global campaign centered on creativity and community.
At the heart of this campaign, Four Seasons partnered with popular Canadian YouTuber, Lilly Singh to inspire a global movement of positivity. With this, the brand focused on the topic of kindness through artistic expression and local community involvement, reminding the world that kindness is woven into the fabric of its luxury hospitality.
The brand also organized diverse initiatives in their various locations around the world. This included:
- An “Artist Showcase” in Hawaii
- The collection of donations for Caddy du Coeur in Bora Bora to deliver food to families in need
- A charity auction in Hangzhou
And so much more. Their kindness campaigns in each region were tailored to suit what really resonated with the respective local audiences.
What can you learn from Four Seasons’ initiatives for World Kindness Day?
- Customize your idea to reflect the needs of the local communities. This boosts relevance and attracts more participation.
- Identify the right collaborations for each effort. Whether it is a local celebrity or social media influencer or a non-profit organization supported by the local community, identify local partners who help take your idea closer to your target customers.
Beekman 1802
Beekman 1802, known for its goat milk skincare, partnered with Ulta Beauty to celebrate World Kindness Day through their multi-faceted campaign. This initiative was packed with community-driven events, social media challenges, and charitable giving.
One of the main components of the campaign was the #TimeToBeKind challenge on TikTok. The brand invited users to join the challenge and announced that they would donate $1 to The Jed Foundation for each post shared as part of it.
The brand also announced the donation of $1 to $1 to The Jed Foundation for each purchase made on the website.
Now, let’s talk about a few quick tips to take away from the World Kindness Day efforts by Beekman 1802:
- If you have the time and budget for it, plan a holistic campaign spanning multiple channels. This expands the scope of your kindness campaign and creates more ways for consumers to engage with your brand. In this case, Beekman 1802 used a mix of digital channels and offline channels to maximize their reach and impact.
- Tap into the power of user-generated content through online challenges to grab the attention of a wider audience for your kindness campaign.
Tips to Amplify the Impact of Your Kindness Campaigns
With so many ideas to explore, crafting the perfect kindness campaign does not have to be a tough job after all. A clear understanding of your audience and a sprinkle of thoughtfulness can go a long way in creating something meaningful rather than promotional.
Here are a few additional tips to keep in mind when executing these ideas:
- Identify and make use of relevant channels for the intended impact. To reach the right people and deliver your message, you need to reach them where they are. While you need a good mix of digital and offline channels for your marketing, for specific celebrations like World Kindness Day, it’s more about creating an impact and making a difference in someone’s life rather than boosting your promotional efforts. Therefore, consider hosting local events or carrying out small random acts of kindness at your physical stores in order to truly connect with your audience.
- When using digital channels like social media, boost the excitement and drive momentum through giveaways and contests. This gives participating customers something to look forward to.
- And when doing so, do not forget to create a consistent visual style for your campaign so that all the promotional graphics designed for the campaign look and feel the same.
- Avoid cliches and identify the most practical themes that your target audience can easily connect with. Something that is too generic might end up appearing inauthentic.
Create Visually Appealing Graphics for Your Kindness Campaigns With KIMP
Irrespective of the channel you choose for your kindness campaigns, you need professional quality graphics to grab the attention of your target audience. And to preserve your brand’s image as well. Moreover, you cannot let the design needs for small social media holidays like World Kindness Day affect your regular design workflow. So, having a long-term solution for all your design requirements, like an unlimited design subscription, helps.
Wondering how an unlimited design service can amplify your marketing design workflow? Book a call with the KIMP team today. Or jump right in and sign up for a free 7-day trial to get a first-hand experience of working with a dedicated design team for all your brand designs.