Kroger Revs NASCAR Sponsorship

Kroger activated its annual NASCAR Daytona 500 marketing program (see "Kroger Drives to Daytona Again" in Related Articles) company-wide this month by offering loyalty cardholders $3 off the purchase of 10 participating products. Eligible items were identified with shelf tags carrying the race's official logo. Circular features and emails to loyalty cardholders supported. (See Image at right.) The list of participating brands included Coca-Cola, PepsiCo's Gatorade and Frito-Lay Fritos, Nestlé's Hot Pockets, Kraft Foods' eponymous barbecue sauce and ConAgra Foods' Banquet.NASCAR's season-opening Sprint Cup Series race took place on Feb. 14. Kroger sponsored JTG Daugherty Racing's No. 47 car and driver Marcos Ambrose during the race, recognizing its Valentine's Day timing by using a floral-paint scheme of red roses on the car. Kroger also serves as title sponsor of the race's qualifying day (and sponsors NASCAR's lower-level Nationwide Series' Kroger 200 on July 24 in Indianapolis.)In regional activity, Kroger stores in North Carolina offered loyalty cardholders exclusive toy replicas of Kevin Harvick Inc.'s No. 2 truck autographed by drivers Harvick and Ryan Newman for $69.99 with purchase of one Bounty, Charmin or Pringles product from Procter & Gamble. P&G and Kroger sponsor the truck in NASCAR's Camping World Series. Circular features supported. (See Image at right.)Among brand-supplied NASCAR activity at Kroger stores: Coca-Cola leveraged its own NASCAR sponsorship through a variety of P-O-P materials that included a digital clock counting down to the Daytona 500 and a corrugate replica of a post-position tower. (See Images at right.) The P-O-P package from MillerCoors' Miller Lite included a corrugate replica of the No. 2 Penske Racing car driven by Kurt Busch that the brand sponsors. (See Image at right.) Kraft Foods' Nabisco provided floorstands featuring imagery of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing car sponsored by Oreo and Ritz in the Nationwide Series as its side panels. (See Image at right.) Tony Stewart drove the car to victory in the season-opening race on Feb. 13.Other Promotional ActivityKroger staged a company-wide "Big-Game Greats" offer leading up to the National Football League's Super Bowl on Feb. 7 that delivered $5 off at checkout with loyalty-card purchases of 10 participating items, which were plugged via shelf tags and circular features. (See Images at right.) Among the participating brands: Kraft Foods' Velveeta, Johnsonville Sausage, Pinnacle Foods Group's Hungry-Man, Ralcorp Holdings' Post, Nestlé's Edy's, General Mills' Nature Valley and Fiber One, Campbell Soup Co.'s Pepperidge Farm, Procter & Gamble's Tide, Georgia-Pacific's Brawny, Kellogg Co.'s Zesta, Sara Lee Corp.'s namesake brand, and PepsiCo's Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Propel, SoBe and Quaker. Some chains offered five free "Game Day Fixin's" private-label products with purchase of a crock pot valued at $19.99 or greater.In the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston markets, Kroger again participated in the nonprofit "Souper Bowl of Caring," which raises money near Super Bowl weekend for charities selected by participating churches, schools and businesses. Shoppers buy pre-packed bags of groceries or donate cash at checkout. Kroger promoted the cause on ceiling banners and stanchion signs. (See Images at right.)Kroger's Fry's, meanwhile, promoted an account-specific sweeps from official Super Bowl sponsors PepsiCo and MillerCoors that awarded 10 grand-prize Osram Sylvania TVs. VIP loyalty cardholders were entered automatically with purchase of Pepsi, Frito-Lay, Gatorade or Propel SKUs, along with Coors or Coors Light products.In other seasonal activity, circular features are directing consumers to a promotional website recognizing Black History Month that provides health tips, recipes and a sweeps awarding a $1,000 store gift card. Vendor sponsors are General Mills' Honey Nut Cheerios and Yoplait, Glory Foods, Kellogg Co.'s Kellogg's, Ocean Spray, Diet Coke, Brawny, Unilever's Lever 2000 and Caress, and Colgate-Palmolive's Colgate. Floor clings support. (See Image at right.)Among other company-wide activity, Kroger chains offered: $3 off Sony Pictures' Michael Jackson's This Is It or Universal Studios' Couples Retreat on home video with a $35 total receipt (in separate programs). Fred Meyer instead dangled a free package of General Mills' Totino's with purchase of the video. a free bag of private-label Fresh Selections salad with purchase of Ocean Spray Craisins and Paramount Farms' Almond Accents. circulars features promoting "Lenten Values" for the Christian season of Lent, which began on Feb. 17. The features spotlighted such products as Gorton's fish sticks, Nestlé's Stouffer's macaroni and cheese, private-label cheese, H.J. Heinz Co.'s Ore-Ida potatoes and Schwan Food Co.'s Red Baron pizza.Among chain-specific activity: Kroger promoted Valentine's Day offers of $1.50 off receipts for each purchase of three Hallmark cards on Feb. 14; 15% savings on the purchase of six bottles of wine; and $5 off the combined purchase of an Apple iTunes gift card and a Hallmark greeting card. QFC dangled $5 off at checkout with purchase of 10 participating products from PepsiCo's Quaker Oats. Fry's in Arizona offered a two-for-one deal on tickets to the Waste Management Phoenix Open to shoppers who bought $15 in participating Coca-Cola products. (See Image at right.) The PGA Tour event will be held Feb. 25-28Store Growth Kroger, Cincinnati, OH, operates 2,469 supermarkets in 31 states under 24 banners.

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