The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2018
Country Time defended kids' lemonade stands from permit rules
Country Time set up a Legal-Ade fund to reimburse children fined for running lemonade stands without a permit, turning a boring rule into a national story.
Country Time · Kraft Heinz
the move
Country Time, the Kraft Heinz lemon-drink brand, is a summer product sold when lemonade stands appear on neighbourhood streets. That same season, children across the US were being fined or shut down for running stands without costly permits.
The brand, with Leo Burnett Chicago, set up Legal-Ade: a fund to reimburse children fined for running an unlicensed lemonade stand, plus a promise of $1 for every retweet. By Wednesday morning the campaign film had drawn about 93,000 retweets.
The device worked because the enemy is impersonal and universal: a permit law nobody likes, pointed at kids. Taking a stand let a drinks brand voice a sentiment people already felt.
The next year Country Time built on the same platform with the Littlest Bailout, issuing stimulus cheques to children whose stands were closed by social distancing, showing the platform could adapt to a new season.
why it works
- A permit rule on children's lemonade stands is a universally disliked, impersonal target.
- Reimbursing kids and donating per retweet turns attention into action for the brand.
- The underdog story generated earned media far beyond what a paid campaign could buy.
- The platform was seasonal and adaptable, so it could be reused in a later crisis.
what transfers
Take your audience's side against a universal, impersonal enemy; a brand that fights a petty rule earns more attention than an ad about its product.
what came after
Country Time paid about $150,000 for media but earned the equivalent of more than $10 million in media, leading to roughly 1 billion impressions and 97% positive sentiment on social channels. It reversed a declining market share and produced the brand's first big sales spike in seven years, and was renewed in the 2020 Littlest Bailout campaign.
references
- Country Time bails out lemonade stands with stimulus checks
- Lemonade titan gives 'Legal-Ade' to young entrepreneurs
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