‘Friendship meets partnership’: B&M and Bauer on evolving ‘Mission Christmas’

Retailer B&M and Bauer Media’s charity Cash for Kids have worked together for the past 12 years on the ‘Mission Christmas’ campaign, a toy appeal for disadvantaged children across the UK.

Since the partnership began, £100m has been raised, supporting over 2 million children. B&M joined the Mission Christmas project in 2013, which Cash For Kids brand and partnerships director, Emma Brown, describes as a pivotal moment. 

“[Before 2013, Mission Christmas] was very much embedded in local communities, but we weren’t unifying that call to action across our network. B&M has given us the opportunity to do that,” says Brown.

“Every year, we’ve taken it into new geographies and territories. So, now we’re raising more than £14m from Mission Christmas, which is just phenomenal.”

From a marketing side of things, it’s really gone on a journey and it’ll continue to grow across multiple different touchpoints as technology changes.

Shelley Robinson, B&M

B&M has worked with the charity on a “seamless journey” to encourage gift donations, explains head of marketing, Shelley Robinson. She describes the tie-up as a “friendship as well as a partnership”. The idea is to learn from each campaign, with Robinson describing the partnership as a “continually moving beast”.

“B&M and Cash for Kids are so perfectly well-suited, well-fitted, as we always say, symbiotic,” she explains.

For Brown, effectiveness is measured by reaching more children each year, ensuring the campaign works “slickly” in store and proving the partnership “hasn’t interfered with the commercial operation in B&M”. She sees the “simplicity in its messaging” as a key driver of success.

Robinson wants B&M to “feel embedded in local communities” through the partnership. As a direct result of the collaboration, B&M customers shop more frequently in store across the year, are 36% more likely to do extra shopping when buying Mission Christmas gifts and are 47% more likely to trust the B&M brand – with trust being an “incredibly important measure” for the retailer.

Similarly, Brown puts Cash for Kids’ Savanta standing as the second most loved children’s charity down to “powerful partnerships”. She describes Mission Christmas as a “gateway to new supporters” who go on to engage throughout the year, such as on Cash for Kids day.

Mission Christmas is embedded into B&M’s wider Christmas strategy. The team have evolved the marketing output, focusing on customer stories reported from its store staff. Posts around customer stories on social tend to be the “highest reaching”.

“We’ve grown the marketing output from what would have been just a simple in-store ‘Make a donation’ to now working across digital and social, really bringing to life that storytelling,” says Robinson.

“From a marketing side of things, it’s really gone on a journey and it’ll continue to grow across multiple different touchpoints as technology changes as well”.

Ultimately, how much further can we take this across the B&M network? We’re in about 75% of B&M stores now and I’ve got my sights set on the rest.

Emma Brown, Cash for Kids

She credits the Bauer partnership with helping connect listeners with the cause via its local radio stations.

“Utilising what we do on the radio is an integral element in the campaign to making it work. Without that, I don’t feel like we would be able to get the exposure that we need with that narrative and that storytelling to really bring it to life,” Robinson adds.

This year, influencers were added into the mix from a pool of creators B&M works with throughout the year, such as beauty influencer P. Louise

“There’s a lot of influencers that have that relatability, because they understand what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a campaign that’s so important,” says Robinson.

The marketer argues storytelling has become more important on social media in order to connect with audiences. Store colleagues are, for example, involved in creating social content explaining the partnership and its impact.

“There’s so much more power to that type of [storytelling] content and it’s almost what consumers expect now,” she adds.

Cash For Kids has a place in B&M’s Christmas press show, festive gift guide and store managers’ conference.

“We are always trying to find new ways to really embed Mission into what we’re doing throughout the festive period,” says Robinson.

“With it being 75% of our store network, we’re able to have those conversations on the ground with store managers in an easier way to give them that narrative and that storytelling about why it’s so important each Christmas.”

Diving into storytelling

With the partnership live across the Hits Radio Network, Brown is now looking at how Cash for Kids can “use that airtime even better moving forward”.

“How do we really dive into the storytelling? How do we use our talent to really bring this partnership to life for our supporters and for our listeners in the future? And ultimately, how much further can we take this across the B&M network? We’re in about 75% of B&M stores now and I’ve got my sights set on the rest,” says Brown.

Cash for Kids is also making use of Bauer’s publishing arm, securing coverage of Mission Christmas across print titles, as well as the company’s outdoor network. Robinson agrees taking the partnership to new touchpoints is the next step.

Cash for Kids has a team that works on Mission Christmas all year round. Having “feet on the ground” in 23 areas across the UK means the charity can “map out impact at postcode level” and innovate accordingly.

Brown explains developments in radio and the support of Bauer Media Audio have been key to engaging new supporters. Having access to all of Bauer’s audio brands has allowed the partnership to reach demographics of all ages through stations such as KISS.

Brown explains the charity has “got a lot cleverer in B&M stores” around highlighting product ranges for age groups that can be challenging, including teenagers and babies.

“Shelley and the team have enabled us to really highlight those ranges in-store and by doing that, in conjunction with our talent on the radio brands driving that call to action for those age groups, it works perfectly together,” she says.

For Robinson, Mission Christmas remains as “one of the most meaningful, important partnerships” B&M has.