Kroger Hangs with 'Greats'

Kroger executed its standard marketing playbook for the Super Bowl merchandising season, focusing its activity on a “Game Day Greats” sales promotion delivering $5 in instant savings with purchase of 10 eligible products.The scores of participating products included multiple brands from SC Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, Clorox Co., PepsiCo, 3M, Kraft Foods, Nestlé, Colgate-Palmolive, H.J. Heinz, Hormel Foods, ConAgra Foods, Kellogg Co., Mars Inc., Unilever, Procter & Gamble, Campbell Soup Co., Johnson & Johnson, Energizer Holdings and numerous other manufacturers.In addition to typical seasonal categories such as grocery, frozen, meat, produce and deli, the offer also covered general merchandise, health & beauty, pet and household needs — as outlined in the official “Game Day Greats Shopping List” that was distributed via upfront stanchion signs and chain websites (see Attachment at right); the stanchion signs carried QR codes linking to the list so shoppers could view it "on your smartphone" while they moved around the store. Participating items were identified at the shelf with special tags and, in some cases, given endcap placement with accompanying signage. The extensive P-O-P program also included custom standees and pallet displays from PepsiCo leveraging the manufacturer's official National Football League sponsorship. Circular features and carousel ads on chain websites supported.Kroger spiced up the general offer by presenting an online “Deal of the Day” from Jan. 22 to Feb. 4, a new component of its seasonal efforts introduced during holiday 2011. (See “Kroger Keeps Holiday …” in Related Articles.) New for this effort was an accompanying “Recipe of the Day” that presented party favorites primarily showcasing Kraft products. (ConAgra’s Ro-Tel, which is a co-marketing partner of Kraft’s Velveeta, received a couple of mentions, while Hormel’s Valley Fresh chicken got one.)Home-page ads promoted the Deal of the Day, but linked to a more inclusive “Game Day Greats” microsite housing the deal, the recipe, a link to Kroger’s Digital Coupons service and a five-minute “Game Day Greats” webisode that humorously chronicles a couple’s Super Bowl party planning amidst product placement for brands from Kraft (Velveeta, Ritz, Philadelphia, Planters) and PepsiCo (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Lay’s, Tostitos).Kroger used the "Game Day Greats" theme in 2011 as well. (See Related Articles.)In other seasonal activity, stores in Texas and Louisiana once again supported the annual "Souper Bowl of Caring," a regional food drive that encourages shoppers to buy pre-packaged bags of groceries or make donations at checkout. Circular features carrying a "Tackle Hunger" message supported.

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