HD loves HB launched with a new flavor, Vanilla Honey Bee, with proceeds donated to help fund honey bee research.A magazine insert made of seed paper enabled consumers to bury it in the ground and grow wild flowers for the bees to feed on.Helpthehoneybees.com gave visitors a space to learn about the problem and help spread the word, while bee-dance videos brought the problem to the attention of millions of Earth-conscious YouTubers.

Grocery retailer, Whole Foods, was so inspired by the promotion that in an effort to raise more awareness of the plight of the bees, they removed every bee-dependent product from its shelves for a day.Finally, Häagen-Dazs, together with a coalition of national beekeepers, testified on the bees’ behalf in front of Senator Hillary Clinton and the House Agricultural Subcommittee on Capitol Hill and urged Congress to allocate funding for additional honey bee research.

The result was one of the fastest-moving media and PR stories of 2008: 125,000,000 PR impressions in the first week, with real contributions to bee research ($250,000 and counting). Häagen-Dazs’ revenue has increased 7% in 2008 and sales are up 10%. That’s double-digit growth in less than a year.