Bob the Robot and Wolt's Homeless Christmas Meal Drive Puts Food on the Table

One week before Christmas 2016, marketing agency Bob the Robot and food delivery service Wolt cooperated with VVA (The Association for Homeless People) in order to create a donation campaign to offer Christmas meals to those in need. The initial goal was to gather at least 100 portions for Christmas Eve but the end result was astonishing: over 15,000 meals were donated. 

A new restaurant launched

The main idea of the campaign was simple. A new restaurant was established on Wolt. However, consumers could not purchase any food for themselves from this restaurant. Rather, they could donate a Christmas meal for only five euros. The real value of the meals was more than 20 euros as Finnish FMCG companies Saarioinen, Vaasan and Raisio were partners in the campaign. 

Information was shared through Bob the Robot and Wolt’s own channels. No bought media was used. The key factor in generating a massive reach for the campaign was the strong sharing and engagement of consumers. After the hype generated by ordinary Finns, it was hard for the mainstream media to ignore the phenomenon. The campaign got a lot of attention in nationwide news through television, print and digital news outlets.

The campaign exceeded all expectations

The original goal of 100 donated meals was reached in less than 30 minutes. As the campaign was executed only days before Christmas, acquiring more meals became hard. However, the agency wanted to give consumers the opportunity to donate. The team therefore gave them the option to continue donating 5€ and promised to use all the funds generated in supplying food for the homeless.

The end result was astonishing: 15,000 donated meals in only two days.

With these meals the Association for Homeless People can offer a warm meal to its guests five times a week until Christmas 2018.

Development Director of Wolt, Juhani Mykkänen, commented: “The key success factors in the campaign were our user-friendly app and indeed the charity aspect near Christmas time,”  

Bob the Robot’s Strategy Director Karolus Viitala added that the great cooperation between the two companies and the fast reacting to the flow of donations were key in the good results.