NCAA Sponsors Make a 'Game Day' for Walgreens

Walgreens joined with official National Collegiate Athletic Association sponsors Coca-Cola Co., Mondelez International and Hershey Co. this month for a co-marketing program.Leveraging the popularity of the NCAA's Men’s College Basketball Tournament, which begins March 18, the program dangles 3,000 Balance Rewards points to loyalty cardholders who buy $15 in eligible products from Coke Zero, Mondelez's Nabisco or Hershey's Reese’s from Feb. 23 through March 24.Walgreens presents the offer in stores on shelf signs incorporating its recurring “Game Day Favorites” sports theme alongside the NCAA’s official "Final Four" tournament logo and beauty shots of eligible products. A feature in the retailer’s March coupon book plugged the deal without referencing the NCAA tie-ins. Walgreens staged a similar campaign in 2013 with just Coke and Hershey. (See “Walgreens Adds Some Madness …” in Related Articles.)In other “Game Day” activity with Hershey, Walgreens is offering “fan edition” Reese’s peanut butter cups on deal from Feb. 23 through March 29. (The candies are imprinted with basketball imagery.) The SKUs are merchandised on trays at checkout with headers touting the offer.The retailer also utilized the “Game Day” theme to promote Nice! private label snacks through a coupon-book feature and shelf talkers (via News America Marketing’s SmartSource). Elsewhere, a basketball-themed Facebook update on March 16 touted two-fer deals on Coke Zero and Reese's.Separately, Walgreens again tapped into Unilever’s NCAA sponsorship for a program centered on dedicated endcaps. (See “Walgreens, Unilever Extend …”) The display is stocked with custom shelf trays promoting the "Official Locker Room Products" status of Unilever's men's personal care brands; a header and side panels depict high-profile coach Shaka Smart of Virginia Commonwealth University. All the materials communicate a "buy one, get one 50% off" deal on SKUs from Axe, Dove Men+Care, Suave, Vaseline and Degree.SmartSource shelf talkers in the main aisle also plug a Walgreens-exclusive sweepstakes awarding a trip to the 2015 Final Four. The signs direct shoppers to gamewinningtickets.com (an alias for stepupyourgame.com) to find details about the promotion, in which entrants earn points by uploading pictures of receipts from Unilever product purchases at Walgreens from March 18 to April 7 (the duration of this year's NCAA tournament). Ten points scores a sweeps entry, while 150 points earns a store gift card. (Each purchase is worth at least 20 points.) IN Marketing Services, Norwalk, CT, handles.

P2PI MEMBERS

JOIN P2PI

You May Also Like

Reese's Plays With Dollar General's App

7-Eleven Leverages Pac-Man's Popularity