(Photos courtesy of Scott Bennett)
Big displays and a 750-horsepower Camaro ZL1 helped Jewel-Osco accelerate sales of several produce items in the midst of a brutal Chicago winter.
Jewel-Osco used a car giveaway and creative merchandising to promote Halos mandarins, Wonderful pistachios, Pom Wonderful juice and Fiji water during much of February and March.
The idea was to create some energy in the department during a time of year that is traditionally slower given the cold and snow.
“It engages everybody,” said Scott Bennett, produce sales and merchandising manager for Jewel-Osco. “It engages the store team, it engages the customer. Store team because it gets them excited to build a display, it's a fun thing to do, and obviously customers look at the display, look at the car giveaway, and they just shop.”
The results of the promotion were positive for Jewel-Osco and for the supplier, Los Angeles-based The Wonderful Co.
“All items did extremely well,” Bennett said. “Customers definitely reacted to the car giveaway ... We put a lot of time and effort into it.”
Bennett, who was the featured expert in the March-April issue of Produce Retailer magazine, has spoken before about why display contests are so effective in growing sales.
“The grower was extremely pleased with the promotion, and then again after the promotion ended we had record sales — after the ad — on some of those items,” Bennett said.
The Camaro was customized by Loves Park, Ill.-based Nickey Performance. The approximate retail value of the vehicle, as listed in the sweepstakes rules, was $94,090.
Related
Expert Insight — Scott Bennett with Jewel-Osco
Display Contest Best Practices — Executive Edition
Display Contest Best Practices — Produce Manager Edition