Marine Sargent Alejandro Castillo reached out with his challenge coin story in 2025. Now his story is the first in a series about Veterans who bring their commitment to service to their civilian lives, as well.
Situation
Founded by actor Tom Hanks, Hanks For Our Troops makes “Damn Good Coffee for a Damn Good Cause,” donating all profits to charities that empower U.S. Veterans and their families. The commitment is year-round, but Veterans Day provides special opportunities to lend the brand’s platform to individual Veterans, bringing awareness to their stories of service – while on active duty, and the home front, too.
Insight
Shared experience creates bonds among servicemembers that outlast enlistment. At more than 17 million strong, the Veteran community is an endless source of inspiring stories to raise awareness about the heroic challenges Veterans and their families often face.
Solution
In 2025, Riester collaborated with HANKS on an effort that told Veterans’ stories while also helping to connect the brand with individual Veterans who have applied the leadership and commitment to service they gained in the military back to their civilian lives. Initially this outreach came in the form of a HANKS Challenge Coin initiative. Using paid and organic social channels, Hanks For Our Troops sought out photos and stories of “real” challenge coins earned during their service, offered in exchange for the HANKS Challenge Coin as a token of gratitude. The overwhelming response has led to direct relationships between individual Veterans and the brand’s team – resulting in a new video to highlight the mission, with more opportunities for collaborative content on the horizon.
Results
200 U.S. Veteran submissions
789 collective years of service
261.6K organic impressions across Meta, LinkedIn, and TikTok
Representing an 18% lift
1.52M paid impressions reaching 1.03M new users
$1.66 CPM
17.6 Million Veterans Honored
Services
Research
Strategy
Creative
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Media
Social Media
Public Relations
