Men’s Wearhouse suit drive draws record-setting donations

In June 2012, Men’s Wearhouse was preparing to launch its fifth annual National Suit Drive to collect gently worn clothing to distribute to 200 nonprofits nationwide.

The retailer’s agency, Mullen Advertising, was tasked with drumming up more awareness than the year prior with a limited budget. The drive attracted a record-breaking 130,171 garments due in large part to a robust social media presence. 

For their efforts, Mullen, together with PR Newswire, take top honors in the Best Corporate Social Responsibility category of Ragan’s 2013 PR Daily Awards.

Mullen used PR Newswire’s ARC platform to boost online exposure. The ARC Engagement platform is a branded, SEO-friendly HTML page that contains an embeddable, shareable, interactive multimedia player. Check out the Men’s Wearhouse National Suit Drive ARC. 

Strategic outreach

The program kicked off at the 66th Annual Tony Awards Backstage Creations Celebrity Retreat, where Broadway stars interacted with the brand by stopping by the National Suit Drive booth.

That same day, the Men’s Wearhouse ARC was distributed through PR Newswire, reaching websites, blogs, social networks, video-sharing sites, and journalists.

In addition, for every mention of the National Suit Drive on Twitter, using hashtag #giveasuit, or on Facebook, $1 was donated to the cause for up to $25,000. This became a trending topic across Twitter on July 17 when Men’s Wearhouse exceeded its $25k donation goal. Users were also invited to share images and videos, and to track real-time campaign activity and donations through the live donations counter on the National Suit Drive Facebook tab. 

We congratulate the team members who collaborated on the winning effort: Heather Schwanke, national account manager, PR Newswire; Kristy Hatley, executive account manager, PR Newswire; Kevin Wilk, divisional vice president, PR Newswire/MultiVu; and Anna Sowa, account director, Mullen Advertising.

Learn more here.

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