Julius Meinl Launches First Global CSR Initiative For Pay With A Poem Campaign

As part of its ongoing mission to make the world a better place through poetic inspiration, Viennese coffee brand Julius Meinl has launched its first global CSR initiative for its world-renowned annual poetry campaign Pay with a Poem. This year, Julius Meinl has collaborated with global education charity Worldreader and over 1,000 HoReCa customers register to participate in the World Poetry Day event, where every poem counts towards a donation target in support of global literacy.

The brand, with almost 160 years of coffee expertise, will roll out the campaign in over 40 countries worldwide across key Julius Meinl regions including Vienna to Miami, Dubai to Moscow, Venice and London. Taking place on World Poetry Day (March 21st), this year’s campaign where consumers can get inspired with a cup of Julius Meinl and show their support by writing a poem, in exchange for a free coffee or tea of their choice. Every poem counts towards the 100,000 poems donation goal, which could fund projects in selected countries where Julius Meinl sources coffee such as Ethiopia, Kenya and India.

Studies show that millennials increasingly want to know what organisations are doing to make the world a better place and are more likely to support businesses that have a positive impact on issues they care about*. So this World Poetry Day, Julius Meinl and Worldreader are uniting in a shared belief in the power of words and turning a regular cup of coffee or tea into something provides a unique experience at POS and makes a difference for others around the world.

With 14% of the global population illiterate**, bringing people into the world of words not only introduces them to a form of creative expression, it has long lasting effects on individual lives contributing to eliminating poverty, reducing inequality and improving prosperity around the world. We hope to see a huge increase in consumer participation this year as millennials become increasing more conscious in their support of CSR initiatives.  In addition, the most inspiring poetic submissions globally will be hosted on the Worldreader app for millions to read and enjoy which will further incentivise consumers to take part.

In addition to the global Worldreader partnership, in the UK, Julius Meinl will also be collaborating with poet and spoken word artist Telixia Inico.

Participating customers will be supported by a global integrated marketing campaign, which includes dedicated digital and social media efforts, alongside PR activity and print materials. Registered partners will also receive a dedicated toolkit including flyers, posters, and digital content to promote the campaign at the point of sale.

Julius Meinl’s CEO Marcel Löffler said: “2020 marks the seventh year of the Pay With A Poem initiative, designed to facilitate moments of poetic inspiration with coffee (and tea) serving as the creative fuel for consumers in over 40 countries worldwide. This year, we want to go that extra mile to support our ongoing mission to make the world a better place through poetry, which is why we have partnered with Worldreader.”

Campaign content has been created by advertising agency, McCANN Bucharest. The international PR strategy and local market PR activation will be handled by communications agency, DeVries Global.

If you’d like to sign up for this year’s Pay With A Poem campaign or one of Julius Meinl’s upcoming poetry experiences, use the contact form on meinlcoffee.com/contact. Follow the social conversation using #PayWithAPoem #PoetryForChange.

Source: DeVries Global and Julius Meinl

  DeVries Global, Digital Media campaign, Julius Meinl, Literacy, Social Media, World Poetry Day, Worldreader