Super Save Food Town Hyper Gives Back with Community Sports Day

About

Store: Super Save Food Town Hyper
Locations: Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Department: Whole Store
Difficulty: Medium-hard
Annual turnover: R750,000,000 ($55,000,000)
Store Size: 4,500 sqm (48,500 sqft) with 13,000 sqm (140,000 sqft) warehousing space  

Strategy

After 34 years in business, we wanted to find a way to show our customers how grateful we are for their continued support. While we have given away a car for the past 9 years, we knew that we could still do more to help the community and really show how much we care. With our focus on health and wellness, we thought that promoting an active lifestyle and active living would be an excellent initiative for us to take on. We started by choosing six schools to participate in a variety of inter-school activities, including a Big Walk, and soccer and netball competitions. Each school chose their teams to enter in the soccer and netball competitions. Then, each school was provided with full kits along with a kit bag and ball. We also encouraged all students in each school to participate in the 1.5km Big Walk. In all, over 3,000 children participated in a fun day filled with activities. We also provided refreshments for all participants. At the end of the day, the winning school was presented with a monetary donation to uplift the school’s sports department.”

By the Numbers

Why it Works

Social Media impact

• Give back to the community
• Our shoppers appreciate that we are helping area children.
• Reinforces wellness
• By sponsoring activities like this, it continues to showcase the fact that we are passionate about promoting active lifestyles.

For Our Store

Builds community. The event raised awareness of Super Save Food Town Hyper as a community store that cares.

Showcased civic responsibility. The event included approval by the Mayor and Departments of Education and Department of Sports & Recreation.

Creates closer ties with shoppers. The event allowed us to directly communicate with the families of children in these school.

Tactics

1. Start by deciding what events you would like to include. Choose a couple regional favorites, but make sure to include a few activities that all students, regardless of athletic ability, can participate in.
   
   
2. Approach the schools to let them know about the program. You will need to get buy-in from the top in order to get the kids and parents excited about the event.
   
   
3. Figure out where to host the event. Obviously, you will need plenty of space, so somewhere like a big local park is ideal. You may also be able to ask one of the local schools to host.
   
   
4. Create some flyers to spread the word. You will also want to post on social media sites. While your main objective is, of course, to give back to the community, there’s no harm in getting some credit for your good deeds.

Pro Tips

1. Have plenty of employees and volunteers available on the day of the event in order to make sure that everybody is in the right place.
   
   
2. Make sure that you have a nice assortment of snacks and refreshments to keep everybody full and happy.
   
   
3. Advertise during the event. We make sure that we have plenty of signage reminding family members and telling those passing by that Super Save is hosting the event.