• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, November 2, 2011

With Veterans Day (Nov. 11) approaching, cause-marketing campaigns tied in with supporting U.S. troops are beginning to appear.

Two cases in point: New initiatives from Heinz Ketchup and the Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt dessert chain.

Heinz Ketchup is distributing special 20-ounce bottles in participating restaurants across the U.S. The bottles bear “Our Turn to Serve” messaging and a QR code on their back labels, which when scanned with smartphones, enable consumers to compose thank-you notes to veterans.  

Through a Heinz/USO partnership, the USO will send each thank-you note, as a personalized postcard, to a veteran or active military service member.

For each thank-you sent, and each “like” on the Heinz Ketchup’s Facebook page, Heinz will donate 57 cents (up to $200,000 total) to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a national, nonpartisan organization dedicated to enlisting the public’s aid in meeting the needs of injured servicemen and women, and helping them to assist one another.

The brand is also driving awareness and participation through special-edition bottles now in all major grocery chains, which bear “Thank You Veterans” messaging and direct consumers to the Heinz Ketchup Facebook page and WWP’s site.

The campaign also offers consumers the ability to make their own donations directly to WWP, and learn more about how to become involved with veterans’ programs in their local communities.

Together, the H.J. Heinz Company, L.P. and the Heinz Foundation will collectively donate more than $300,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project this year. Heinz has a long history of supporting U.S. soldiers and veterans, according to the company.

Orange Leaf is opening its 111^th store on Veteran’s Day, and marking it with a “Thanks a Million!” letter-writing campaign in partnership with AMillionThanks.org.

From Nov. 1 through Nov. 11, all Orange Leaf locations will provide customers with tools to write a brief letter of thanks to active and veteran troops overseas, stateside and at Veterans Affairs hospitals. Participants will receive a variety of special offers for frozen yogurt (varying by store location). In addition, through Thanksgiving, consumers can write electronic letters on Orangeleafyogurt.com.

Orange Leaf and AMillionThanks.org, a nonprofit dedicated solely to sending letters of thanks to troops and veterans, will send the letters after Thanksgiving.

Oklahoma City, Okla.-headquartered Orange Leaf, which offers self-serve, choose-your-own-toppings frozen yogurt desserts, has grown from 15 locations as of April 2010 (when a group led by CEO Reese Travis acquired the business) to 99 franchised locations and 12 corporate affiliate stores in close to 30 states. More than 40 new stores are under construction in the U.S. and Australia.