From 2 to 15 October 2018, Okaïdi-Obaïbi, Oxybul and Jacadi in France and overseas asked their customers to buy a red nose for 1 euro, with all profits going to charities supporting children in hospital.
Last year 122,000 red noses were sold, but this generous record was beaten this year with 155,248 noses sold (66,711 of them in France), raising more than €33,000 for the Fédération Française des Associations de Clowns Hospitaliers. Money raised overseas is donated to local charities that also support children in hospital.
A big thank you to all our customers for their generosity and to our staff for their sterling efforts! In fact, the entire ÏDKIDS community, particularly the sales teams, worked incredibly hard to make this campaign a success. Each red nose is a symbol of solidarity and represents a willingness to help children in need.
Parents, children and staff took photos of themselves with red noses individually and in groups and posted them on social media to raise the profile of the campaign. The result? Smiles all round and lots of fun photos published with the hashtag #offrirunsourire!
- This year, Japan joined the campaign for the first time. Here’s what their country manager, Yannick, had to say:
“I was very keen to show my team some concrete proof of our commitment to helping children. The societal aspect of the group was one of the things that appealed to them when they were recruited. So, I wanted them to be fully involved in this fun, charity event, even though the deadline for organizing it was tight!
First, I had to find a partner charity. We chose a Japanese hospital clown charity called the Japan Hospital Clown Association. It isn’t very well known compared to similar charities in Europe and France, so this campaign was a great opportunity to raise its profile! The charity even offered to organize a clown show in store. Magic, balloons and laughter were the order of the day, but it was also an opportunity for them to talk about their work.
The next step was all about raising awareness of the campaign’s objectives with store teams internally and customers externally.
Once it was over, I talked to our in-store teams and the charity to get their feedback on this first event. We have already sold 300 of the 400 red noses we received.
Our staff were proud to take part in the campaign and happy to learn more about an issue most of them weren’t really aware of. The clown shows in store were hugely popular. It was a great opportunity to get our customers involved in our charity work and teach them more about Okaïdi’s commitments. Our staff can’t wait to do it all again!
With regard to customer feedback, in-store charity events are less common in Japan than in France, but the red nose worked well because it’s fun and affordable. And the shows were popular because they brightened people’s days and showed the store in a whole new light!”
