Today Joe and Megan chat with Kris Bahner, Senior Vice President of Global Corporate Affairs with Kellogg about their new Rice Krispies Treats Sensory Love Notes campaign in partnership with nonprofit Autism Speaks*.

Several years ago, Rice Krispies Treats first developed writable wrappers on 2017 where parents could write encouraging notes directly on the packages of Rice Krispies Treats to put in kids’ lunchboxes. In 2018, Kellogg partnered with the National Federation of the Blind to create braille stickers for Rice Krispies Treats as well as recordable audioboxes to convey messages to those that were low- or no vision.

Those braille love notes were so well received, the brand opted to expand the campaign to make it even more inclusive. This year they established a partnership with Autism Speaks to create sensory love notes, which are stickers made of different materials like fleece, satin or velour and provide a tactile experience to kids with sensory issues.

As a mom of a child with autism, Kris has a professional and a personal interest in the work of Autism Speaks and understands firsthand the special considerations that are sometimes needed for children with autism. The nonprofit helped Kellogg develop the sensory stickers to ensure they were creating an experience that would be meaningful to children with autism.

Kris’s son thought the sensory love notes were very cool - which is saying something for a 15-year-old teen!

Kellogg also collaborated with their employee group Kapable (an employee resource group focused on supporting individuals with disabilities and is the fastest-growing employee group at Kellogg) on the sensory love notes effort. The group was very involved and brought a lot of passion and enthusiasm to the campaign.

People intuitively respond to the concept that kids need encouragement but that they each do it in different ways. People really “get” that Kellogg is trying to be more inclusive in this effort and it has resonated well with parents from all walks of life.

Kris shares how this sensory love notes campaign fits into Kellogg’s ‘Better Days’ initiative, how their purpose-driven legacy evolved over the 113+ years that Kellogg has been in business and how their brands incorporate purpose into their campaigns where it’s a strong equity fit and how they’re focused on making an impact all around the globe.

We did confirm after the podcast that Kellogg did make a monetary donation to Autism Speaks as part of this effort.

Tune in now!

Links & Notes

• Kellogg’s Sensory Love Notes Video — YouTube
• Kellogg’s Braille Love Notes — YouTube