Whirlpool: Care Counts
Whirlpool sought to demonstrate its brand purpose beyond home appliances by addressing a significant societal challenge. The client aimed to prove a tangible link between its products and improved community well-being, specifically targeting at-risk students and their educational outcomes to enhance brand reputation.
Creative Idea
Installed data-tracking washers in schools, proving clean clothes boost attendance and student success.
Whirlpool's Care Counts program installed washers and dryers in at-risk schools, using data to prove that access to clean clothes directly improved student attendance and academic engagement, transforming a basic need into a powerful catalyst for educational success.
The Data Box That Proved Laundry Saves Education
The Proprietary Hardware of Care
To move beyond traditional storytelling, DigitasLBi and Whirlpool engineered custom "Data Boxes" - proprietary hardware installed directly onto school washing machines. These devices assigned students anonymous IDs to track every load of laundry in real-time. This cloud-based data was then cross-referenced with school records by developmental psychologist Dr. Richard Rende to prove a scientific correlation between clean clothes and classroom presence.
Moving the Needle on Market Share
The initiative functioned as a "storydoing" masterclass that yielded massive commercial returns. Beyond the social impact, Whirlpool saw a 6.6% year-over-year sales increase and a 6.3% gain in market share. Brand preference lifted by 22%, proving that addressing the "1 in 5" students lacking clean clothes resonated deeply with consumers. The campaign generated over 45 million social media impressions and 5 million engagements, successfully shifting the brand from a utility provider to a purposeful advocate.
Scaling Through Strategic Partnerships
What began as a pilot in just 17 schools across St. Louis and Fairfield has scaled into a national infrastructure. By 2024, the program reached 164 schools across 41 states, providing access to over 50,000 students. This growth was fueled by a long-term partnership with Teach For America, which helped identify high-need districts where chronic absenteeism was most prevalent. The production, led by Lindsay Tyler, captured these transformations through a raw docuseries format that eschewed polished advertising for authentic student and teacher testimonials.
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Whirlpool could credibly deliver innovative laundry appliances and a commitment to improving home life, extending this to community well-being.
Category
Appliance brands typically focus on product features or domestic convenience, rarely addressing broader societal issues or educational barriers directly.
Customer
Parents and educators wanted solutions for student success, while students desired belonging and confidence, often hindered by a lack of clean clothes.
Culture
A growing cultural awareness of systemic inequalities and the desire for brands to demonstrate genuine social impact made this authentic initiative resonate deeply.
Company
Whirlpool could credibly deliver innovative laundry appliances and a commitment to improving home life, extending this to community well-being.
Category
Appliance brands typically focus on product features or domestic convenience, rarely addressing broader societal issues or educational barriers directly.
Strategy:
Leverage brand utility to address an overlooked social barrier, proving tangible impact through data-driven intervention.
Customer
Parents and educators wanted solutions for student success, while students desired belonging and confidence, often hindered by a lack of clean clothes.
Culture
A growing cultural awareness of systemic inequalities and the desire for brands to demonstrate genuine social impact made this authentic initiative resonate deeply.
Strategy:
Leverage brand utility to address an overlooked social barrier, proving tangible impact through data-driven intervention.
Results
The Care Counts program by Whirlpool yielded significant positive outcomes: - Kids who regularly miss school are 7 times more likely to drop out (contextual problem). - At-risk participants attended almost 2 more weeks of school than the previous year. - Over 90% of participating students improved their attendance. - 89% had increased class participation. - The program was installed in 47 schools. - Over 12,000 loads of laundry were washed. - In 2017, over 1,000 schools have requested the program. - The campaign received extensive media coverage from outlets like TODAY, HLN, CBS News, The Washington Post, NPR, The Huffington Post, FOX, and more.
90%
of students improved attendance
89%
increased class participation
2 weeks
more school attended by at-risk participants
Strategy Technique
Make the Invisible Visible
The campaign illuminated the overlooked issue of clean clothes as a barrier to education. It used real data and stories to dramatically show how a basic need profoundly impacts student attendance and success.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Conduct an Experiment
The campaign explicitly designed a program to test a hypothesis - if clean clothes improve attendance. It installed data-tracking washers in schools to scientifically prove this connection.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
The campaign's exceptional craft lies in its comprehensive execution of a tangible social program, featuring custom technological solutions to precisely measure and compellingly communicate real-world impact.
The campaign built and deployed custom data collection devices in schools, integrated with a cloud database, to precisely track student usage and program efficacy, providing irrefutable proof of concept.
The 'Care Counts' program itself is an expertly designed service, integrating functional laundry facilities and a social support system directly into at-risk schools to create a tangible, life-changing experience for students.
Custom data collection feeds into clear, compelling on-screen metrics and reports, translating the program's complex impact into digestible and irrefutable proof of its success.
The campaign's strength lies in its concise and emotionally resonant narrative, using impactful on-screen text and authentic participant testimonials to powerfully articulate the problem and the program's solution.
The program's profound impact stems from the synergistic combination of its thoughtfully designed physical intervention, custom technological measurement, and compelling data-driven narrative.
