Media

Inside General Mills

June 7, 2010
Nature Valley is ramping up its support of U.S. national parks in a series of advertisements to underscore the authenticity of the brand and its commitment to nature – and natural ingredients.

The effort builds on Nature Valley's partnership announced in April with one of country music’s biggest stars – Kenny Chesney, a four-time Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year.

This month print advertisements with catchy taglines like “Your children’s grandchildren will thank you” and “Moments like these are worth saving” will begin appearing nationwide in magazines like National Geographic. And similarly themed displays will begin appearing in grocery stores.

A commitment to nature
Nature Valley has already donated $366,000 to the National Parks Conservation Association, including money raised through promotions on Facebook and the movie website Fandango.com ($1 was donated for every ticket purchased to the movie, “Kenny Chesney: Summer in 3D.”)

Now, the goal is to raise another $250,000 through August by redeeming the specially marked Nature Valley wrappers. Nature Valley will donate 10 cents to the National Parks Conservation Association for every specially marked wrapper sent in to be redeemed.

The money raised through the “Nature Valley National Parks Project” will be used to fund initiatives at three marquee national parks: Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Biscayne in Florida.

The effort builds on Nature Valley’s longstanding relationship with the American Hiking Society. Nature Valley has donated more than a half a million dollars to the society since 2005 to help restore national park trails. And it also builds on its sponsorship of outdoor events like cross-country skiing and the Nature Valley Bicycle Festival in Minnesota.

Underscoring sustainability
The nature-themed campaign underscores the brand’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

As of January, the Nature Valley cartons are smaller, resulting in a 13 percent reduction in carton material which will save an estimated 6.2 million pounds of paperboard every year.

The money raised for national parks will be used to sustain native plants in the Grand Canyon, remove and realign fences near Yellowstone to aid the yearly migration of pronghorn antelope, and restore coral reefs in Biscayne – home to the world’s third longest living coral reef.

As part of the promotion, Chesney has also prepared apublic service announcement and mentioned the Nature Valley park project in several mainstream media interviews.

“To me, there’s nothing better than being outside, enjoying the parks, the lakes and the oceans – and that’s what makes protecting our national parks so important,” Chesney said. “Teaming up with Nature Valley to raise awareness and funds is a great way to make sure the public realizes how special these parks are and that they can have a hand in keeping them available for generations to come.”