Sam's Club Supplies Students of All Ages

Sam's Club reduced its emphasis on back-to-college shopping this year, quickly transitioning mid-stream to activity targeted at parents of school-age children.A seasonal page on samsclub.com that launched on July 13 invited visitors to "Give them a home away from home," linking to e-commerce pages for products grouped into categories such as "Connect with Tech," "Comforts of Home" and "Study Zone." On Aug. 7, the warehouse club shifted the focus to the needs of younger kids with a "School Speed Ahead" theme taking over the page and the product categories changing to "Supply Your Star," "Launch the Look" and "Fuel Their Minds."The seasonal destination consistently promoted restaurant gift cards, club memberships and the retailer's "Click 'n' Pull" online ordering program. (See "Sam's Introduces …" in Related Articles.) A home page carousel ad, a display ad running throughout the site, and multiple email ads and Facebook updates link to the page.Meanwhile, Sam's Club continued putting a seasonal bent on its monthly health screenings (see "Sam's Club Screens ..."), distributing child safety ID and DNA kits along with dental tablets at Aug. 10 events held in the 564 clubs with pharmacies. The events also encompassed the standard testing for vision, blood pressure and body mass index. Supporting standees near pharmacies highlighted sponsors Clif Bar & Co.'s Clif Kid, Bayer HealthCare's Flintstones and Alacer Corp.'s Emergen-C.Elsewhere, the July/August issue of the retailer's Healthy Living Made Simple magazine contained three brand-agnostic articles about back-to-school season and two ads promoting the screenings, one of which identified the sponsors.Sam's Club again tapped into the season for member recruitment (see "Sam's Club Gives …"), staging an open house on Aug. 2-4 that waived the customary 10% surcharge on non-member purchases. A supporting eight-page circular distributed via mid-week newspapers showcased products from private label Artisan Fresh along with SKUs from dozens of brands including Kellogg Co.'s Special K, PepsiCo's Quaker, General Electric's GE, Hewlett-Packard's HP, Unilever's Dove and Merck & Co.'s Claritin. A July 30 Facebook update promoting the open house linked to information on state back-to-school sales tax holidays on samsclub.com. Local radio spots supported.In stores, custom pallet displays from manufacturers such as Acco Brands’ Five Star, Newell Rubbermaid's Sharpie and Victorinox's Swiss Gear used a generic "Back to School" message while directing shoppers to samsclub.com "for more products." Unilever's Axe employed a "major in the Axe effect" message on account-specific displays.In other merchandising, J.M. Smucker Co., Herr's Food and Kellogg Co. united for a pallet display sporting a "Kick Off the School Year with Smart Savings" message. Display ads throughout samsclub.con linked to a brand showcase for those three manufacturers and Tyson Foods, Hillshire Brands, Sunny Delight Beverages and Bimbo Bakeries. The showcase promoted an in-store "back-to-school meal solutions demo" on Aug. 10-11 and carried printable notes for parents to stick on kids' lunch bags.Other display ads on the site tied in to General Mills' "Box Tops for Education" program by touting the bonus credits available on packages of products from Kimberly-Clark's Scott and Kleenex, WhiteWave Foods' Horizon Organic, and Mills' own Honey Nut Cheerios, GoGurt and Nature Valley. The ads linked to e-commerce pages for the spotlighted SKUs.In other account-specific activity, an Aug. 17 email ad and display ads throughout samsclub.com touted the retailer's participation in Kellogg's "Great Starts and Great Stories" program. (See "Kellogg is All ...")In regional activity, Sam's Club Midwest employees hosted events at four Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago locations, playing games, serving lunch and giving away backpacks filled with school supplies to 1,400 kids, according to a media release.

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