Bayer’s #FeedABee campaign delivers 200,000 seed packets while raising awareness

The goal of Bayer Crop Science’s “Feed a Bee” social media campaign was simple: Educate the public about the importance of bee health and how to be part of the solution to the troubling declining bee population. Its ambitious and meticulous strategy has made it the first-place winner in the “Social Media Campaign” category of PR Daily’s 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility Awards.

Bayer set a goal of having people plant 85 million flowers, a continuation of the momentum it achieved in the campaign’s previous year. Through a Tumblr site, interested individuals could request a packet of seeds, share content or ask Bayer and its partners to plant seeds on their behalf (or as the organization put it, on their “bee-half”). 

The multichannel social media campaign asked people to use the #FeedABee hashtag and the bee emoji; every time it was used, Bayer planted 200 seeds. A video anchored the campaign, which also included a partnership with The Wildlife Society for a planting tour conducted in four states. 

The effectiveness of the campaign is in its numbers, including the distribution of 200,000 seed packets, nearly half a million views of the FeedABee.com site and more than 15,000 shares to Facebook, along with admirable shares across Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, and channels. 

The campaign also generated 28 articles and news segments and led to 117 local partnerships in addition to the national partnership with The Wildlife Society. 

Congratulations to the  world-class team Bayer assembled to execute the campaign, including (from Mastermind Marketing) Emily Lucas, Jordan Parnell, Dana DiFurio, Ryan Wofford, Mike Gelfond, Kevin Smith and Mo’ Safavynia; (from BBDO) Will Boudreau, Ashley Bruce, Jessica Sours, Kathryn Dronzek Williams and Jordan Harris; and (from Porter Novelli) Ayanna Robinson, Dwayna Haley, Whitney Jinks, Kristen Ellis, Bill Marks, Jack Boyne, Kaylea Notarthomas and Chrystine Fox.