KROGER: CASE STUDY
JUST WHAT THE DR ORDERED
SUPERMARKET LEADER LEVERAGES ROUGHRIDERS SPONSORSHIP TO CREATE HIGHLY EFFECTIVE TRAFFIC AND SALES DRIVER.
Background With almost 2,500 supermarkets, Kroger is the largest operator of traditional grocery stores in the United States. However, competition for customers’ attention and business continues to grow from similar chains, local stores and niche stores. As a sponsor of the Frisco RoughRiders, Kroger has turned to the team for the past six years to develop a special yearly promotion that will drive customer traffic to its stores and increase sales to customers who are already there.
The magic of exclusivity The development of this year’s promotion began with one of the hottest young hitters in baseball — Texas Rangers first baseman Chris Davis. In 2008, he started the season with the ‘Riders before being called up to the big leagues and quickly became a fan favorite in Arlington and the Dallas/Ft. Worth areas. The ‘Riders capitalized on his popularity by creating an exclusive Chris Davis T-shirt that would only be available at Kroger. While the exclusive content would attract large numbers of customers to Kroger stores — the ‘Riders needed to ensure the increased traffic would convert into sales. They enlisted the help of another sponsor: Dr Pepper — one of the most popular soft drinks in the world, and available in every Kroger store. With Dr Pepper on board, the promotion was set: purchase four six-packs (half-liter bottles) of any Dr Pepper product at a special price of only $10 and receive a free Frisco RoughRiders Chris Davis T-shirt. The promotion would run for the entire month of May in 30 Kroger stores throughout North Dallas and Collin County.
Promoting the promotion The promotion gained exposure using innovative instadium and traditional advertising methods, all handled by the ‘Riders at no additional cost to the sponsors. A special ad was designed and printed in every issue of PlayBall! during the promotion (16 home games) — reaching an average of more than 8,000 fans per game. During games, promotional graphics were displayed on ‘RiderVision, public address announcements were read, posters and POS flyers were created and displayed, and game-day staff wore the Chris Davis T-shirts and talked with fans about the promotion. In addition, the ‘Riders wrote, produced, and ran newspaper and radio advertisements for the promotion, worth more than $20,000. A special newspaper advertorial ran three times in The Dallas Morning News while a 30-second radio commercial aired 45 times on stations 97.5 KLAK, 103.7 KVIL-FM, and 105.3 KRLD-FM2. The promotion was also prominently featured on the ‘Riders Web site and emailed to more than 25,000 fans.
‘Riders fans head to the supermarket For the entire month of May, Kroger saw an increase in foot traffic and Dr Pepper product sales at all 30 participating stores. As a direct result of the promotion, Kroger: Distributed 1,500 Chris Davis T-shirts Sold 6,000 units of Dr Pepper The overwhelming demand for the T-shirts and strong return on sponsorship investment illustrate the staying power of a promotional partnership that fans look forward to year after year. Both Kroger and Dr Pepper have already begun putting plans in place for next year’s promotion with the Frisco RoughRiders.
Frisco RoughRiders • Dr Pepper Ballpark • 7300 RoughRiders Trail • Frisco, TX 75034 • (972) 731-9200 • info@ridersbaseball.com