Dollar General Sends Troops Thanks, Gum, Cheetos

Dollar General has teamed with multiple national brands this summer to run programs supporting veterans and U.S. troops. Most notably, the dollar store chain partnered with Coca-Cola Co. to stock exclusive, military-themed, 16-ounce cans activating the brand's sponsorship of the United Service Organizations (USO) for the third year in a row. The exclusive cans are part of the partners' "Ranks in Thanks" campaign and comprise five cans each depicting a patriotic logo and "thank you" message honoring service members, veterans, military spouses, military families or American heroes. Rolled out to stores earlier this summer, the cans enjoy secondary merchandising space in stores via account-specific floorstands and custom endcaps outfitted with signage positioning the SKUs as exclusive. Window posters also support. As part of the Ranks in Thanks campaign, shoppers are also encouraged to visit a dedicated microsite (via Southfield, MI-based HelloWorld) to share a message of support for service members serving or living in specific locations around the globe. Messages will be displayed in USO centers around the world and those who send a message will receive a BOGO coupon for military Coke cans. As part of the initiative, Coca-Cola and Dollar General will also make a $100,000 donation to the USO.“‘Ranks in Thanks’ is about strengthening the link between the American people and our men and women serving around the world,” said Lisa Anastasi, USO chief development and marketing officer, in an article on uso.org. “We are honored to work with our long-standing partners to honor military service by encouraging the public to express gratitude for the daily sacrifices our service members and their families make in support of our nation.”In related activity, Mars pledged to donate one 15-stick pack of Extra gum to the USO (up to 10,000 packs) for every Extra pack purchased from Aug. 19 through Sept. 22 at Dollar General. Account-specific shelf trays and an Aug. 23 Facebook update activating the manufacturer's sponsorship of the USO tout the cause promotion. Dollar general is also encouraging shoppers to purchase a pack of PepsiCo/Frito-Lay's Cheetos “Stars” puffs to support the troops. In Aug. 18 Facebook and Twitter updates, the dollar store chain communicated that for every bag of Cheetos Stars sold, “we'll send a bag of Cheetos to our troops (up to 143,000 bags).” It is unclear when the cause promotion ends.

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