Cause Marketing/ Community Programs

Sporting goods and apparel retailer Academy Sports + Outdoors has renewed multi-year contracts with Auburn University and the University of Alabama. The renewal means that it will continue to sell the universities’ licensed products in its 13 Alabama stores.
 
The retailer is currently an official sponsor of University of Alabama’s Crimson Tide and official sporting goods retailer for Auburn University’s Tigers, and has been working with the two universities for several years.
 

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc. is launching an omnichannel promotion with pop singer Katy Perry in support of its “Make Roar Happen” campaign that raises money for DonorsChoose.org, a charity that raises funds for classroom projects across the U.S.

Retailer H&M showed off items from its summer fashion line with a summer camp-themed event in Brooklyn.

Following a preview of the fashion retailer, guests participated in postcard writing activities and played Ping-Pong, culminating in a performance by Zoe Kravitz’s band, Lolawolf, around a campfire.

"I think H&M does a really great job making clothes that are affordable but still fashionable and well made,” Kravitz said.

Short Hills, N.J. — Visit Machu Picchu in Peru at The Mall at Short Hills this summer. In partnership with PromPeru: The Commission on the Promotion of Peru for Export and Tourism, The Mall at Short Hills will feature Peru-themed promotions from June 13 through July 10.

Highlights include:

An interactive exhibit of Machu Picchu: The centerpiece of the effort is a 20 X 30 ft. exhibit of the fabled Machu Picchu, the Incan citadel named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in a 2007 international Internet poll.

During the World Cup, Bud Light will donate to the Hispanic Scholarship Fund for each goal scored, up to $250,000. Though Budweiser is the official Beer of the World Cup, 2014 is the first year that Bud Light has been a partner of the month-long event.

"Integrating our sponsorship with education is at the core of our company values,” Bud Light Brand Manager Miguel Nigrinis said. “It's a winning recipe for Latinos that aspire to hold a university degree.”

Michaels has teamed with seven leading North American museums to create Passport to Imagination 2014, a low-cost, in-store summer program where kids ages 5-12 explore culture through crafting.

Coca-Cola and U.S. soccer team member DaMarcus Beasley are joining forces to help consumers give soccer balls to schools. Through July 13, people can enter promotional codes from Coca-Cola products at coke.com/soccer and donate a soccer ball to the school of their choice.

“The Coca-Cola Company has always shared an enormous passion for soccer and the world of endless possibilities that it offers to youth globally and right here in the U.S.,” Coca-Cola North America’s VP Multicultural Marketing Lauventria Robinson, said.

Staples' secret weapon this back-to-school season looks to be Katy Perry. The retailer recently aligned itself with the pop mega-star who has the potential to influence the shopping behavior of 50 million Twitter followers and 71 million Facebook fans.

Staples said it will be the presenting sponsor of the North American leg of Perry’s Prismatic World tour when it resumes on June 22 in Raleigh, N.C., and also donated $1 million to the DonorsChoose.org charitable organization which helps fund teachers’ and students’ classroom needs.