AB Acquisition Spreads Out the Monopoly Board

AB Acquisition borrowed some marketing equity from Albertsons this month, extending the formerly independent chain's annual "Monopoly" game to three other banners.Running Feb. 5 to May 20 at AB's Albertsons, Jewel-Osco, Shaw’s and Acme chains, the multi-faceted promotion centers on a collect-and-win game that licenses the name and graphics of the classic Monopoly board game from Hasbro Inc.The game requires shoppers to collect markers corresponding to "major" prizes on a game board distributed in stores. Players receive one game ticket for every checkout transaction during the promotional period (limited to one per three-hour interval), and earn additional "bonus" tickets for buying specific products individually or in groups of 10.Along with four of the major-prize markers, each ticket contains either:a code that can be submitted to a chain’s promotional website or Facebook page for entry into an online game awarding roughly 30,000 lower-level prizes of store gift cards from $5 to $500 in value, free Redbox video rentals, and additional game tickets;an instant-win message awarding gift cards of $1 to $100 or Redbox rentals from a pool of one million prizes;a product discount; oran additional code for entry into a sweepstakes that will award one $15,000 grand prize and 75 secondary prizes of $1,000 store cards over the course of the promotion.The “major” prizes include $1 million (to three winners), $100,000 (eight), $500,000 “Dream Homes” (three), $40,000 vehicles (10), $40,000 motorcycles or boats (12), $25,000 backyard makeovers (20) and $10,000 family vacations (24); all prizes are awarded as cash. The pool also includes store cards of $2,500 (60) and $1,000 (150), as well as 72,500 cards of $5 to $250.Weekly circulars have touted the promotion extensively while showcasing various products from participating manufacturers that deliver bonus game pieces. Jewel-Osco’s Feb. 5 circular, for example, dedicated two full pages, spotlighting products from Hershey Co., Kraft Foods Group, Mondelez International, Ferrero USA, Coca-Cola Co., Procter & Gamble, Nestlé, Reynolds Consumer Products and Campbell Soup Co. Similar features at Acme, Shaw’s and Albertsons showcased various manufacturers. Shelf tags identify all eligible SKUs, some of which are further plugged on shelf talkers. Additional P-O-P support includes standees distributing game boards, freezer clings, aisle violators, banners, balloon sculptures, stanchion signs and multiple ceiling signs. Some of the materials contain beauty shots of participating brands.Similar beauty shots on the promotional websites and Facebook pages link to the websites of the participants, including Procter & Gamble’s Tide, Charmin, Crest, Pantene and Bounty; Mondelez International’s Nabisco Wheat Thins, Triscuit, Chips Ahoy and Oreo; Kraft Foods Group’s flagship brand; WhiteWave Foods’ Silk, Horizon Organic and International Delights; Kimberly-Clark’s Cottonelle; Reckitt Benckiser’s Finish; Thai Union Group’s Chicken of the Sea and AgroFarma Brands’ Chobani. The marketing plan also includes home page carousel ads on chain websites, email ads, social media activity and endorsed blog posts.Albertsons has been staging a Monopoly game annually since 2009. (See “Albertsons Goes Back …” in Related Articles.) The chain became part of AB Acquisition through an early 2013 deal with Supervalu. (See “Supervalu Completes ...”)

AB Acquisition Spreads Out the Monopoly Board

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