So Scary It Won’t Go Away

Battling weak profits, PepsiCo, Purchase, NY, extended its annual Halloween House Party promo to run until the Super Bowl to help boost supermarket sales. The party, which consists of side-by-side displays of Pepsi and Frito-Lay products,was extended as part of an overall plan to boost promotion and marketing spending, says PepsiCo Inc., Chairman Roger Enrico. His announcement followed weak third- quarter sales of Doritos, Fritos, and other snacks.

The House Party campaign will be supported by Free-Standing Inserts offering a coupon of $1 off with the purchase of Pepsi or Frito-Lay items. The FSIs are already appearing in national newspapers. Meanwhile, P-O-P materials and “other promotional support” are also being prepared, the company said.

In a statement, Enrico says he expects “House Party” to have “meaningful impact” in the fourth quarter. If the promo is successful, it will have plenty of clones.

Pepsi is trying to leverage the strengths of its Frito-Lay, Pepsi-Cola, and Tropicana divisions to galvanize Pepsi supermarket revenues. Says Enrico: “PepsiCo is the one company that can bring in consumer foot traffic with Pepsi-Cola and Mountain Dew and provide fat profit margins with sales of Doritos and Fritos.”