Clorox is undertaking a social responsibility-centered approach by inviting consumers to purchase its products, snap a photo of their receipts and upload them onto a mobile-optimized site to receive PayPal credit redeemable toward charitable donations.

Clorox has joined forces with DonorsChoose.org to revamp its mobile rewards and give customers more choice over how to redeem their money-back offers. Individuals who buy Glad, Hidden Valley and Clorox items will receive $1 in PayPal credit for every $5 spent, which can be redeemed toward future purchases or toward donations on DonorsChoose.org.

“Back-to-school can be hectic and stressful,” said Rita Gorenberg, associate director of public relations and digital at Clorox. “We wanted to ensure our program helped simplify the entire back-to-school shopping experience for parents and teachers, from the actual earning of rewards to the functionality around how you earn them.

“Nearly three-quarters of the U.S. population has a smartphone and most are using their phones all along their path to purchase,” she said. “By leveraging these existing mobile behaviors and the real-time nature of mobile image submission, we’re taking away some of the barriers to donation that have existed with more traditional mail-in school rewards programs and we are hoping to gain stronger engagement and participation.”

Mobile receipt kickbacks
Clorox is prepping consumers for the busy back-to-school season by devising a way to help parents and teachers simplify solutions for cleaning and stocking classrooms and homes.

The consumer packaged goods marketer is ramping up to make school supply shopping even easier by giving a $100,000 donation to DonorsChoose.org, a Web site enabling educators to collect necessary funds for classroom projects and supplies.

Clorox’s “Double Your Impact” offer allows the brand to match consumers’ donations dollar for dollar. Any individual who makes a contribution to a DonorsChoose.org project supported by Clorox will see his or her offer doubled, resulting in more resources reaching schools in need.

To participate in the campaign, consumers can purchase Hidden Valley, Glad and Clorox products and snap a photo of their receipts with their smartphone cameras. They may then visit cloroxforschools.com on their mobile devices and follow the instructions to make an account.

Customers who buy $5 worth of Clorox items will earn $1 that can be redeemed as a money-back offer via PayPal or as a contribution to DonorsChoose.org.

Individuals can also participate by visiting DonorsChoose.org and searching for eligible Match Offers.

The campaign runs through September 30.

Shining up mobile tactics
Clorox’s partnership with DonorsChoose.org will likely yield a positive response from customers alongside an increase in product sales. The ease of snapping a photo of a receipt may prompt more individuals – who would otherwise have been deterred by manually inputting proof-of-purchase information – to participate.

Mobile receipt-scanning campaigns have been gaining steam in the CPG sector.

Frito-Lay and Colgate recently brought a revamped spin to SMS-based receipt promotions by offering participants alluring rewards from other brands instead of standard money-back offers (see story).

However, Clorox’s “Double Your Impact” campaign arguably benefits the most from its charitable aspect.

Individuals can search for Match Offers on DonorsChoose.org

The partnership arrives on the heels of a fruitful few months in mobile for the brand.

A Clorox executive at Mobile Marketer’s Mobile FirstLook: Strategy 2016 reported that the company is building first-party data and investing in ecommerce in 2016 to support how mobile is changing shopper marketing (see story).

The marketer recently returned for a second run with its Bachelorette-themed mobile matchmaking game within entertainment app Viggle, suggesting that second-screen engagement strategies paired with rewards are working for consumer packaged goods brands (see story).

“We know our consumer is extremely active on mobile, leveraging her device to search for cleaning and laundry solutions, gather product and pricing information throughout her shopping trip and connect with friends and family for recommendations,” Ms. Gorenberg said.

“In fact, more than half of our Web site visits are coming from mobile, which is a steady increase from a year ago. At Clorox, mobile is not a separate discipline, but integrated into all of our marketing, communication and media strategies.”