• by Fern Siegel , November 1, 2024

One in six members of the military and veteran community face hunger, according to the Military Family Advisory Network.

Navy Federal Credit Union and marketing agency MRM Detroit hope to change that with the return of the "No Plate Left Behind" campaign.

After feeding 1.3 million meals to struggling vets and families in 2023, the new initiative hopes to reach more.

This year’s campaign runs through the end of November. It includes CRM outreach to 13MM+ NFCU members, along with digital and in-person targeting across 355+ global and national branch locations.

The AR-driven effort creatively employs technology to address the issue.

“No Plate Left Behind’s” AR experience invites people to virtually select various food items to fill a traditional military mess hall plate. Through a partnership with Feeding America, these online actions translate into real-life food donations nationwide across food banks in communities of need.

Some 34 regional markets are covered in the distribution network. To date, the 2024 campaign participation is up nearly 10%.

The current spot centers on Bob McMahon, a formerly homeless veteran who now volunteers at the Chicago VA Hospital food pantry. 

Grant Theron, MRM Global CEO, said the agency was proud to “partner with Navy Federal Credit Union to help them build an enduring brand relationship with not only its members, but also the broader communities they serve. This idea makes a great case for merging the best of technology, creativity and virtual worlds to make a real-life impact.”

Paid Social (FB, IG, YT), Organic Social for both Navy Federal and Feeding America channels (FB, IG, LI), Owned Member CRM, Influencers (Chef Rush just posted last week), Military Endemic Sites with Programmatic Display, in NFCU branches with print/collateral, and within Navy Federal campuses/employee internal sites.

Tom Heffernan, VP/account director, MRM Detroit, told Agency Daily: “While an AR-based virtual experience might sound like a complex solution, it started with a simple idea: "Fill a plate virtually. Combat hunger for real." We created a way to turn digital food into real meals for our military and veteran community all over the country.

“This year, we're gaining even more traction, with 20% more contributors YTD from 2023 to 2024, and over 1.4+ million meals. That's 1.4+ million meals our military families don't need to figure out how to put together — and we aren't done yet."