Hispanic Gen-Z Opps: 7-Eleven debuts local & COVID-related initiatives amid spend increases

In pursuit of its goal to help provide 20m meals to those in need due to the pandemic, 7-Eleven recently debuted a Feeding America campaign. This initiative includes a drink promotion, sweepstakes and a Round up for Reward program and will continue throughout the end of April 2021. All funds it raises will go toward community support. In March 2021, 7-Eleven will also donate around 2m hand sanitizer units to Feeding America member food banks.

7-Eleven has worked with Feeding America for two decades, supporting its food banks, which provide meals to over 40m people every yer via national and local donations. 7-Eleven re-imagined its annual birthday promotion in 2020, giving a birthday present of 1m meals to the organization and donating $1.2m in its cold-pressed juices.

Additionally, 7-Eleven is supporting its local communities by tapping local muralists on neighborhood-specific art on the chain's interior and exterior walls. This effort sparked a partnership with new creative agency The Ammersion Group. I expect it will lead to additional localized initiatives in the future.

According to iSpot, 7-Eleven hasn't invested in national TV since spending around $101.6k in Q3 2020; we may see the company allocate similar spend in Q3 2021. Despite the global pandemic, 7-Eleven's aforementioned 2020 spend was up 4x from the approximately $25.8k it spent in 2019. Right now, it's promoting its rewards program, targeting a wide audience viewing programs such as Today, Fútbol Mexicano Primera División, TMZ Live¿Qué culpa tiene Fatmagül? and Need for Speed.

So far this year, Pathmatics reports the company has allocated roughly $1.6m toward digital ads; this has more than doubled the roughly $773.8k spent within the same 2020 timeframe and has already reached around a quarter of the roughly $5.3m it allocated in all of 2020. 7-Eleven's estimated full-year 2020 spend ($5.3m) only reached a quarter of that of $21.9m in 2019. It has earned ~217.2m digital impressions YTD via desktop video (37%), Instagram (33%), Facebook (21%), mobile display (5%) and desktop display (4%) ads. 99% of this year's desktop video ads were placed site direct, primarily onto twitch.tv (47%) and youtube.com (23%).

As you can see, 7-Eleven's spend via both TV and digital channels is on the rise. Its TV commercials target Hispanic audiences of all ages. Judging by the increase in digital spend, along with 7-Eleven's heavy reliance on Twitch, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook advertising, it's especially targeting Gen-Z. To do so, it may make forays into additional digital channels such as OTT and/or podcast. Remember, the company is also utilizing localized ad space. Per Kantar data, it additionally uses OOH, radio and local broadcast.

Agency & martech readers - We have not heard of any roster shifts since 7-Eleven appointed CMO Marissa Jarrat last year, so reach out if you haven't yet. The company has an in-house media team and works with creative, digital, social and experiential AOR Deutsch CA (2017). Remember, it's also receiving creative assistance from The Ammersion Group. Additionally, 7-Eleven receives creative and digital assistance from 360i's NY and GA offices, and Ketchum GA provides PR assistance.