The foundation began reaching out to CPG companies to sign on to
the initiative, and "some brands got it right away," like Goya, Ms.
Bezos said. The company has begun including brain-building tips and
activities on several products, such as its Maria Cookies and
pastas including penne, rigatoni and alphabets. Goya is also
featuring Vroom recipes on its website.
Joseph Perez, senior VP-marketing at Goya said, "Changing the
packaging required a lot of collaboration, but in the end we are
very happy with the result. We are very proud to be one of the
first CPG firms Vroom has partnered with."
While J&J didn't actually change its packaging, it has been
including inserts on shampoo bottles that provide brain-building
tips parents can incorporate into their everyday routines. The
company has no immediate plans to make packaging changes, but will
continue evaluating how it can bring more educating materials to
parents' homes, according to Kelly Fanning, senior brand manager
for Johnson's Baby at J&J.
Johnson's has teamed with Vroom for its Save the Children's
Early Steps to School Success program, which provides one-on-one
interaction between caregivers and home visitors on a regular
basis. The brand is bringing its iconic baby products, such as
Johnson's Baby Shampoo, Head to Toe Wash and Baby Lotion containing
Vroom tips to "underserved families in rural communities across the
country," said Ms. Fanning. The company will also share tips on
social media for parents on an ongoing basis.
The "holy grail" for Vroom would be to have tips printed right
on diapers "because the distance between parents and their children
during diaper changes is about 17 inches and that's optimal for
brain-building moments," said Ms. Bezos. She added that there are
about 8,000 diaper changes in a child's first three years of life,
which provides a lot of time for parents to interact with
children.
Amazon got involved with Vroom by providing the foundation's
educational content on the Amazon Baby Registry Welcome Boxes,
which go out to about 50,000 parents per quarter, said Ms. Bezos.
The exterior box design was created internally, said an Amazon
spokesperson, but the brain-building content was developed by
Vroom. The spokesperson declined to comment on future plans with
Vroom, but said Amazon is exploring ways to use the content "to
enhance the customer experience, and fulfill Vroom's mission."
Ms. Bezos said Vroom and JL will continue trying to get other
companies to join the effort. "Brands are beginning to realize the
bigness of what they fill in people's lives," she said. "They see
the opportunities and also the responsibility of what they can do
to benefit their consumers."
In addition to brands, Vroom is partnering with media companies,
like PBS, Televisa and Univision, to spread the word about the
initiative. JL is working on a few documentaries and videos for
Vroom, which will live on some of the media channels and
online.
Outreach to community organizations is also a key element to
promoting the program, such as library systems, faith-based groups
and children's museums. And the Vroom app, available in both
English and Spanish, has been downloaded in 137 countries so far,
and has been receiving requests to make content available in other
languages.