Seeds of Change, the organic seed and food brand under Mars, Inc., launched a clever social media activation in 2014 called the #PledgeToPlant campaign. It featured a Twitter-connected vending machine designed to encourage gardening pledges and community greening, tying into the brand’s mission of sustainable food and seed-saving. This was an early example of “tweet-for-rewards” tech, blending offline events with real-time online engagement to boost brand awareness and user-generated content.
What It Was
- The Setup: A custom vending machine placed at farmers’ markets and expos, like the Hollywood Farmers’ Market in Los Angeles (March 16 and 23, 2014) and the FamilyFarmed expo in Chicago.
- How It Worked: No cash required—instead, users scanned a unique code from the machine, tweeted a “Pledge to Plant” (e.g., committing to plant seeds in a community space) using #PledgeToPlant and @SeedsOfChange, and the machine detected the tweet via Twitter’s API. It then dispensed a bag of certified organic seeds (like basil, tomatoes, or herbs) plus a coupon for Seeds of Change food products.
- If you couldn’t attend in person, tweeting #PledgeToPlant still entered you into a sweepstakes for home garden kits.
- The Tech: Built with Wi-Fi connectivity and a touchscreen interface for Twitter login. It integrated with Twitter’s robust API (more open than other platforms at the time) to verify tweets in real-time, preventing duplicates or retweets from triggering dispenses. Similar machines were later adapted for Instagram, but this was Twitter-first.
- Agency/Partners: Handled by experiential marketing firms like Innovative Vending Solutions, which specialized in social-activated machines. It was part of the brand’s second annual grant program, awarding community garden projects.
Why It Rocked
Impact: It generated buzz in marketing circles as a pioneer in tweet-vending tech, inspiring similar activations (e.g., Oreo’s flavor-tweeting Oreos at SXSW). The campaign ran alongside grants for community gardens, raising awareness and entries for funding. While exact metrics aren’t public, it contributed to the trend of social currency vending, where engagement = freebies.
Engagement: Attendees loved the instant gratification—tweet, get seeds, plant the future. It sparked viral moments, like users sharing their pledges and hauls, amplifying reach. One expo post showed crowds buzzing around it, turning a simple market booth into a social hub.
Brand Tie-In: Perfectly aligned with Seeds of Change’s ethos of “seeds for change,” using social media to plant literal and figurative seeds of sustainability. Pledges focused on greening urban spaces, schools, or neighborhoods, fostering real-world impact.