This Veterans Day, Companies Elevate Their Message Beyond Bagels And Burritos

There’s no shortage of companies offering “deals and freebies” to veterans and military personnel today, from a Chipotle “buy one get one” burrito to a hefty discount on Amazon Prime. Countless retailers use the three-day weekend as an opportunity for having a sale.

Some Veterans Day corporate efforts really stand out because they go way beyond discounts. They humanize military personnel and vets and lend an air of authenticity to a community that, although large in number, is often nameless and faceless to the general population. These two in particular really caught our attention this year.

Macy’s Salutes Those Who Serve

Macy’s support of military families, veterans and active duty military extends far beyond their massive Fourth of July fireworks celebration in New York City each year. 

This past July, Macy’s launched the second year of a cause marketing campaign called “Macy’s Salutes Those Who Serve” in which they partnered with Bunker Labs and Blue Star Families and invited consumers to round up to the nearest dollar upon checkout as a donation to support those charitable partners. The campaign raised $1.2 million for military veterans and their families – not bad for collecting spare change!

The charities Macy’s chose to support are not the traditional type of military charities you’re accustomed to hearing about: Bunker Labs helps veteran entrepreneurs start their own business and Blue Star Families builds communities that support military families with career development tools, local community events for families, and caregiver support.

When asked on our Cause Talk Radio podcast what each of the partners felt was most effective about this second-year effort, they all had the same answer: the fact that real veterans and an actual military family were used in the campaign creative this year that was displayed in-stores and online, one of the first (if not the first) time Macy’s has employed this approach.

“What really gets to the heart of this campaign is that it’s affecting real people. It makes it so much more impactful when you see the faces and you hear the stories of the folks you’re raising money for and donating money to,” said Macy’s Sam Di Scipio. “It’s really important that we’re bringing it back to the mission and we are putting a face and a story to why we’re doing what we’re doing.”

Bunker Labs’ Becca Keaty agreed, “For us as an organization trying to help inspire military veterans in their dreams to become entrepreneurs, you often feel very unseen. You’re trying to sell yourself and your business idea, which is really hard for military members to do. In the military, we’re not equipped to sell our idea or ourselves or ask for help. We’re the problem solvers. To have your face and your story of your dream being told through Macy’s massive megaphone is life-changing. It could propel their business or even just their sense of confidence to a completely different level.”

Blue Star Families’ Kathy Roth-Douquet said she was also in “violent agreement” with Di Scipio’s assessment of the authentic creative. “There’s so much dignity in it because it shows us and our community the way we want to be seen. The larger society often is very sympathetic to us but can tend to see us as this disadvantaged group - like these sad people in the rain…maybe they’re homeless, maybe they’re broken. Our community doesn’t want to see ourselves that way. The way the Macy’s campaign portrayed us is as real people who you can identify with and who you want to have as a member of your community.”

Activision Blizzard and Call of Duty Endowment

The Call of Duty Endowment is a nonprofit organization supported by gaming company Activision Blizzard and co-founded by Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. In 2007, during a veterans initiative in Los Angeles, Bobby came to the realization that veteran projects too often focused on symbolism, such as creating monuments and naming public parks. Few, however, provided the tangible resource veterans most needed: jobs.

Today, the Endowment celebrates its tenth anniversary. With the help of Activision Blizzard and other corporate partners and supporters, the Endowment has funded the placement of 63,000 veterans into meaningful careers.

To kick off their anniversary year, the organization launched the “Hire. Honor.” campaign, featuring a video message from General Jim Mattis, Marine Corps Veteran and former Secretary of Defense who urges viewers to honor veterans by hiring veterans, asserting that the vast majority of veterans who have experienced combat emerge stronger and are even greater assets to our society and the workforce. With Mattis’ voice playing in the background, viewers also see the faces of real combat veterans.

Starting today, Call of Duty: Mobile will feature an Endowment-themed content pack entitled the Call of Duty Endowment Honor Pack which includes a new skin for in-game items with 100% of Activision proceeds going to the Endowment.

Players can participate today by watching some of their favorite streamers play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare on Twitch with incentives for players who watch for at least an hour.

According to Endowment Executive Director Dan Goldenberg, “Every face you see in our initial video is a combat vet and we plan to tell more of their stories in the months ahead. We believe it’s important to counter the destructive ‘hero or broken’ narrative with an empowering message that makes veterans relatable to and ultimately more employable by non-veterans.”

While it’s probably nice for veterans and active-duty members of the military to get a free cup of coffee or a deal at their favorite retailer, I’d wager that they really appreciate campaigns like the two above that treat them with dignity, respect and as important - and authentic - members of their community.