A Chili’s fundraising campaign for childhood cancer resulted in 291,000 QR code scans that appeared on coloring sheets and table tents created specifically for the effort.

Chili’s Grill & Bar recently held its eighth annual Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer campaign and raised more than $5 million to help kids receiving lifesaving care at St. Jude. Children’s Research Hospital. For the first time, the multifaceted campaign used QR codes this year to increase donations while raising awareness of the campaign.

“As the latest trend in mobile technology, QR codes gave Chili’s a unique way to say thank you while encouraging guests to donate to the Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer campaign,” said Chili’s spokeswoman Julie Flowers.

“By incorporating the QR codes into this charitable campaign, it was a great way to relate to Chili’s tech-savvy guests while giving St. Jude supporters another, easily accessible way to donate to the charity,” she said.

Interactive features
Chili’s, Dallas, TX, ran the Create-A-Pepper campaign during National Childhood Cancer Awareness month in September.

The QR codes appeared on marketing materials placed on tables and around the restaurant displaying a thank you from a St. Jude patient to all of the guests supporting the campaign.

A separate QR code was placed on Create-A-Pepper coloring sheets that linked directly to the campaign’s Web site as an easy way for guests to donate via their smartphones.

The QR codes served as an extra resource for how people could get involved and donate to St. Jude.

The cause-marketing effort included other interactive features.

For example, email messages were sent to opted in customers featuring a unique trackable link that could be forwarded to friends. Guests were rewarded with appetizers or desserts as more people donated through their unique link.

Chili’s also sold Create-A-Pepper merchandise and held a Donate Profits Day, when 100 percent of profits from the meals served that day were donated to St. Jude.

Other results from the campaign include 235,000 visits to the Web donation site during September and 6,580 peppers that were created and shared online through the Create-A-Pepper Web site.

This was the first time the Create-A-Pepper campaign included the use of QR codes. Chili’s has previously used QR codes as a way to encourage guests to sign up for the brand’s Email Club, an online tool that gives members great deals, offers and updates about the guest’s home Chili’s.

“With the ever-growing presence of technology in our guests’ daily lives, Chili’s utilized this up-and-coming trend as a unique way to reach our supporters of St. Jude,” Ms. Flowers said. “With more than 290,000 QR codes scanned throughout the campaign, this medium proved to be an effective and tech-savvy way of encouraging guests to donate.”

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York