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Back to School

Despite inflation hitting American consumers hard in 2022 (see “The New Consumer,” page 8), recent research and earnings reports are indicating that back-to-school shopping generally remained resilient despite a softening economy. While some studies indicated that parents wouldn’t do all their back-to-school shopping within the usual period, parents were willing to cut costs in other areas before pulling back on spending for their children. According to the National Retail Federation, total back-to-school spending was expected to match 2021’s record high of $37 billion, meaning brands and retailers could still bet on the shopping occasion to drive sales.

BY JACQUELINE BARBA

1PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay variety packs ushered in a multifaceted omnichannel campaign for the return of the snack brand’s “Back-to-School Blast Off” program, encouraging girls to pursue careers in STEM. The brand teamed up with science-fiction actress Sonequa Martin-Green and STEM Next’s Million Girls Moonshot initiative to support the cause. In stores, the campaign came to life through branded displays, resembling a combination of a school bus and spaceship, and special packaging depicting a QR code that linked to an interactive microsite. 2Revlon added a back-toschool element to its program honoring Mental Health Awareness Month and supporting nonprofit Mental Health America (MHA), which rolled out in May in partnership with mental health platform Real. Revlon teamed up with Walgreens for a charitable donation to MHA and rolled out account-specific endcap displays to stores, depicting QR codes directing to a dedicated landing page within MHANational.org, offering resources and a downloadable “Back-toschool toolkit” that was made available on Aug. 22.

3Meijer and Clorox Co.’s Brita teamed up for an early BTSthemed contest awarding a

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Midwestern school with a garden, including recycled garden beds, picnic tables and a trash receptacle. The “Brita Meijer Recycled Garden Program” ran March-July and awarded garden supplies made from recycled waste collected through the Brita Recycling Program — a national program from Brita and recycling company TerraCycle. Accountspecific endcap displays and signage featuring a QR code linking to Meijer.com/Brita supported the program in stores.

4Co-branded four-way pallet displays spotted at Kroger stores united vitamin brands, including Pfizer’s Emergen-C and Bayer’s One A Day and Flintstones Chewables, and tied into back-to-school season this year. Located near the wellness and personal care aisles, the colorful displays depicted rocket ships and a “Take immunity to school” message.

5Bel Brands’ Babybel cheese deployed account-specific shelf talkers at Ahold Delhaize’s Stop & Shop as part of the brand’s national “Unwrap the Magic” BTS-themed program. The effort included limitededition Disney-themed product packaging, inviting shoppers to enter a sweepstakes awarding a vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort, courtesy of Babybel.

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6Ahold Delhaize USA chains, including the Giant Co., ran an online-only BTS-themed promotion, offering loyalty members $5 in savings with the purchase of five participating family-sized items in a single purchase. Participating brands included Mondelez International, Hershey, Kellogg and Unilever as well as the retailer’s store brand, to name a few. Home page carousel ads and display ads located throughout chain websites supported the offer, which ran from Aug. 26 through Sept. 1.

7Kroger gave significant instore support to back-toschool season and particularly Kellogg Co.’s “Feeding Reading” BTS cause campaign this year with a school bus-shaped floorstand train from Kellogg. The display plugged the national effort and promised shoppers one free book with purchase of a qualifying SKU in custom packaging from select brands. The spectacular directed shoppers to FeedingReading.com, where Kellogg’s Family Rewards members can upload receipts and redeem credits. The displays also pointed to 140 available books, slightly more than last year.

8Chickpea-based food brand Banza tied into BTS season with the August launch of its new product line, Banza Masterpiece’zas, a pizza kit that reimagines the brand’s high-protein pizza into an art canvas for a good

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cause. Marketed as a fun way to help parents implement healthier eating habits, the line also benefits a good cause with 50% of sales donated to Whole Kids Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Whole Foods Market.

9Walmart took to the children’s arts and craft aisle to deploy a BTS-themed endcap display made from recyclable corrugate, stocking a slew of crafting products for kids and depicting various colorful animated animal characters. The display encouraged shoppers to “get exclusive craft bundles, stepby-step guides and more” online and depicted QR codes linking to search results for “Season craft essentials” within Walmart.com.