Groupon Campaign to Raise Funds for Sesame Workshop’s Autism Initiative
Groupon announced a campaign to raise funds for Sesame Workshop to support development of a new autism initiative, See Amazing in All Children. Sesame Workshop’s project is being designed to help the general public develop an understanding of children with autism and demonstrate the commonalities that all children share.
In association with the campaign, Groupon launched a sweepstakes with a chance to win a trip to New York City to attend a live taping of Sesame Street and get a behind-the-scenes tour. Contributors who donate to the campaign are automatically entered into the sweepstakes.
Sesame Workshop is also working to develop digital media tools for families of children with autism to help establish everyday routines for brushing teeth, trying new food, and playing with others.
An accompanying video was produced in partnership with Mashable to support the Groupon campaign and Sesame Workshop and to help spread autism awareness.
The Sesame Street experience will take place in February at an agreed upon time by both winner and Sesame Workshop. The winner of the sweepstakes will be randomly drawn on Monday, Nov. 24. For additional details about the prize and the initiative, visit groupon.com/sesame.
LoyaltyOne Survey Shows Consumers’ Views on Thanksgiving Day Shopping
Macy’s plans to launch Black Friday shopping at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving, two hours earlier than last year, and other leading retailers are following suit with JCPenney’s even one-upping it with its 5 p.m. opening. Against this backdrop, LoyaltyOne, a global provider of loyalty marketing services and customer analytics, surveyed more than 1,000 U.S. consumers on extended Thanksgiving Day shopping hours in a nationwide survey taken in October 2014. The consumer views provide a window into the likelihood that all day holiday shopping on Thanksgiving Day will become a reality.
The latest LoyaltyOne research shows there are three kinds of American Thanksgiving Day shoppers:
• 50 percent who say all-day shopping hours on Thanksgiving Day are a bad idea that detract from the traditional celebration
• 33 percent who say stores open all day on Thanksgiving are a great idea that provide more time for holiday gift shopping
• 17 percent who can’t make up their mind
In the millennial demographic (ages 18-34) attitudes about all-day store hours on Thanksgiving shifts dramatically compared to the general population (ages 18-55-plus). No less than 50 percent of consumers ages 18–24 say all-day shopping on Thanksgiving is a great idea. That support dropped only slightly to 48 percent in the 25–34-year-old age group.
Other key findings from the research include:
• 37 percent of men say stores open all day on Thanksgiving are a great idea, compared with 29 percent of women
• 16 percent of consumers age 55 and older say stores open all day on Thanksgiving are a great idea
• 40 percent of consumers in the South say all-day store hours on Thanksgiving are a great idea, compared with 32 percent in the West, 29 percent in the Midwest, and 26 percent in the Northeast.
This LoyaltyOne’s nationwide survey has a margin of error, which measures sampling variability of plus or minus 2.6 at the 90 percent confidence level.