Circular Features

In February, Walmart unveiled "Simple Steps," a campaign promoting healthy eating. A dedicated circular distributed Feb.

Rite Aid stayed active in March with manufacturer-driven promotions that included a sweepstakes from Kimberly-Clark and a revamped rewards program from Johnson & Johnson.

Publix unveiled a new "Love to Shop Here.

In tie-ins to Procter & Gamble's recent

Sears is again hosting in-store H&R Block offices during tax season. (See "Retailers Count on Tax Season" in Related Articles.) Stanchion signs and circular features publicize the service. (See Images at right.)

Publix hosted a "Progresso Italian Days" sweepstakes from General Mills awarding $10,000 in store gift cards to four grand-prize winners. Two hundred first-prize winners received $100 cards. Entry ran Feb. 17 to March 17. Circular features directed shoppers to stores for details.

Meijer teamed with General Mills on a "Fast Track to the Head of Class" sweepstakes awarding a grand-prize 50,000 Box Tops from the manufacturer's evergreen program.

All Safeway chains leveraged the National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association's (NFRA) annual "Frozen Food Month" campaign (see "FSI Report: March 7, 2010" in Related Articles) by offering $10 off a future receipt with purchase of $25 in select frozen food products from Feb. 28 to March 30.

H-E-B recently reduced prices on more than 5,000 national-brand and private-label products. To identify the savings, the chain is using shelf tags for specific products and encouraging employees -- dubbed "low-price ambassadors" -- to help shoppers find others, according to published reports.

Kmart has been steadily increasing its emphasis on the "Shop Your Way" loyalty card program that Sears Holdings' launched in November 2009 by highlighting rewards offers in circulars.

Food Lion last month began rolling out a price-reduction program that parent company Delhaize America unveiled last fall as a major strategy for 2010.The Southeastern supermarket chain has dropped prices on thousands of national-brand and private-label products throughout the store, confirmed a Foo

Rite Aid leveraged the February start of the 2010 NASCAR season through a trio of exclusive sweepstakes from Coca-Cola Co., Kraft Foods and Mars Inc.The drugstore chain and Coca-Cola are co-hosting a "Race Mom Away" sweeps running Feb.