The encyclopedia · Marketing & Brand · Marketing decision · 2015–2017
Whirlpool put washers in schools and laundry lifted attendance
Clean clothes were a hidden barrier to school; 17 donated machines, 2,000 loads, 90% of kids attended more — Effie winner.
Whirlpool
The solution
Whirlpool sold appliances, but nobody was telling the story of what appliances do in people's lives. DigitasLBi's research uncovered a surprising barrier: a top reason children skipped school was that they had no clean clothes to wear.
So Whirlpool donated washers and dryers to 17 schools in St. Louis, Missouri and Fairfield, California, with staff handling the laundry at no cost to families, and carefully measured the results. The first year produced 2,000 loads, and the attendance data was startling: more than 90% of tracked students came to school more often, with an average gain of 6.1 extra days.
The program turned a product demo into proof of purpose. Teachers reported 89% better class participation and 95% more peer interaction, and the evidence encouraged Whirlpool to expand the program nationally and partner with Teach For America.
Why it worked
- The machines fixed a real, invisible barrier instead of just telling a story
- Attendance data gave the program proof no ad could match
- Free laundry capacity made the gift cheap for Whirlpool to scale
- Effie recognition turned a pilot into a durable brand platform
What can be applied
Instead of claiming your product matters, put it where the problem is and measure the outcome — the evidence becomes both the campaign and the business case.
Aftermath
Care Counts won 2017 North American Effies for Branded Utility and Positive Change – Social Good, expanded toward 60 schools with a Teach For America partnership, and became Whirlpool's flagship purpose program.
Sources
- Effie Insights - Whirlpool & DigitasLBi, 'Care Counts'
- Whirlpool gave washers and dryers to 17 schools in Illinois and California and attendance rates shot up
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