Social Impact Marketing
Bring JOY, BIC to School
Background:
Teachers -up to 97%- spend their own money on classroom supplies each year, often stepping in to fill widening funding gaps in schools and classrooms across the U.S. Meanwhile, the Back-to-School season has become increasingly stressful for families, students and teachers thanks to rising costs and supply shortages. BIC wanted to change that so they partnered with Grounded to help bring joy back to School.
Our Approach:
Grounded worked with BIC to transform the traditional Back-to-School season into a powerful platform for delivering tangible, meaningful joy to teachers. Grounded’s research revealed a vital emotional insight: 52% of shoppers view donating supplies directly to teachers as the most meaningful form of supporting the education of their kids at school
This insight became the spark for a comprehensive 360° campaign ecosystem designed to support educators so they could, in turn, bring more joy to learning.
The Idea
This Back-to-School season, BIC is stepping up to equip under-resourced educators with the essential tools needed to "Bring JOY, BIC to School." To deliver on this promise, the campaign revolved around a compelling national buy-one-give-one mechanic: “Buy a BIC®, Give a BIC®.”
The initiative seamlessly transformed everyday retail purchases into direct classroom support. For every participating BIC® pen or pencil purchased during the promotional window, BIC committed to donating a pen or pencil to a teacher in need.
In partnership with the Kids In Need Foundation (KINF), the campaign achieved an incredible milestone by delivering 3 million pens and pencils to the educators who needed them most. BIC integrated these tools directly into KINF’s Supply A Teacher boxes, which are distributed annually to tens of thousands of qualifying teachers in Title I schools nationwide. By fueling this critical program, BIC and KINF ensured millions of students entered the classroom fully prepared to learn, thrive, and succeed.
Spreading Joy Nationwide
The joy didn't stop with donations. BIC launched three key nationwide activations to ensure teacher appreciation remained at the absolute heart of the initiative:
- Teacher Nominations & Grants: Walmart joined BIC in spearheading a community-driven program, allowing people to nominate inspiring educators for massive Walmart shopping sprees and Walmart Foundation Grants worth up to $10,000 each.
- “Clear the List” Sweepstakes: A direct-relief initiative designed to clear teachers' personal Back-to-School classroom wish lists, removing their out-of-pocket financial burdens.
- The National “BIC Supply Rides” Tour: A high-impact, experiential mobile school bus tour that traveled directly to four key cities, delivering massive shipments of essential school supplies straight to local educators - supported by Lisa Anne Walters, actress, comedian (and ex Teacher herself!)
The Multiplier Effect
To spark nationwide momentum, the entire program was amplified by a powerful network of 4 premier teacher ambassadors and 28 educational influencers through the We Are Teachers network. Through emotional unboxing videos, personal storytelling, and call-to-action nomination posts, these creators rallied the community and turned a retail campaign into a viral celebration of teachers across paid and organic social media.
What We Did:
- Ideated the “Bring Joy, BIC® to School” campaign platform centered around primary concept research, teacher appreciation and classroom equity
- Led an integrated agency team of BIC’s marketing partners including media, retail, social, PR, ecomm & influencer
- Led the development of the national “Buy a BIC®, Give a BIC®” retail mechanic in partnership with KINF
- Positioned BIC as Presenting Sponsor of KINF’s Supply A Teacher program, helping distribute more than 10,000 supply kits nationwide
- Created integrated retail activations with Walmart, including dedicated displays, teacher nomination sweepstakes, and Walmart-funded school grants
- Drove the “Clear the List” initiative, allowing teachers to submit classroom wish lists for a chance to have them funded before the school year
- Developed a phased campaign comms strategy - spanning Motivation, Activation, and Celebration - to sustain engagement throughout the Back-to-School season and orchestrate tactics and touchpoints.
- Helped launch the national “Supply Ride” experiential tour, bringing free classroom supplies and surprise-and-delight moments directly to schools identified by KINF as most in need
- Activated influencer, PR, paid social, Amazon, retail media, and experiential storytelling to amplify “Moments of Joy” nationwide
About the Kids In Need Foundation Partnership
A core part of the campaign was BIC’s partnership with the Kids In Need Foundation (KINF), a nonprofit dedicated to creating equitable learning spaces for students and teachers in underserved schools across the country. Through its national distribution network and educator-focused programs, KINF provided the infrastructure needed to turn BIC’s campaign into measurable classroom impact at scale. By combining BIC’s scale and visibility with KINF’s deep expertise in educational equity, the partnership transformed a Back-to-School campaign into a nationwide platform for classroom support, community participation, and joyful impact.
