CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. -- Adding some pop to summer soda sales, Waldbaum's here teamed with Royal Crown Cola and the New York Yankees on an in-store raffle of a luxury box and tickets for a baseball game.
The Waldbaum's Skybox Sweepstakes offered customers the chance to win a 20-person luxury suite for a game at Yankee Stadium. Other prizes included 50 two-ticket packages to a game and 75 "Yankees of the Decade" videos.
Waldbaum's was the only supermarket chain involved in the promotion. "We proposed the program to Waldbaum's," said Greg DeSantis, New York/New Jersey key account manager for TriBev Corp., a subsidiary of Royal Crown Cola Co., Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Entry blanks were posted in Waldbaum's stores at special RC and Diet Rite cola end displays, which had posters featuring the Waldbaum's, RC Cola and Yankees logos.
"Some stores had wings and some stores had endcaps, with the point-of-sale [material] and tear pads right there," said Pat Sheils, Waldbaum's grocery director. Some stores also put entry-blank pads on the grocery shelf with RC Cola and Diet Rite, he added.
RC Cola furnished the POS material. "We provided pole signs, shelf talkers and the entry tear pads. The tear pads were on the displays and in the regular beverage section," TriBev's DeSantis said.
Waldbaum's supported the giveaway with an ad box in its weekly circular. The ad, featuring the Waldbaum's, RC Cola and Yankees trademarks, detailed the prizes and urged customers to "Enter for the chance to win a Yankees skybox or other valuable prizes . . . See the RC display for complete details and entry information."
For the giveaway's first week, 2-liter bottles of RC and Diet Rite cola were advertised in the circular for 99 cents. No sales were held the second week, Sheils said.
Sheils said people were coming into Waldbaum's stores asking about the promotion. "We don't have numbers yet, but it sounds like we've created some excitement."
RC's sales were up during the effort, TriBev's DeSantis said. "From the feedback I've gotten, the program has been very successful," he explained. Waldbaum's previously has done promotions with the New York Islanders ice hockey team, Sheils said.
