Summertime, and Promotin’ Ain’t Easy
Coca-Cola is expected to extend its drive into local promotions this summer with an instant-win sweeps dubbed Red Hot Summer Days. From June 1-August 31, single-serve bottles and multi-packs carry gamepieces on the label.
Winning gamepieces display a date. Consumers check on a special P-O-P display or pocket calendar to see what prizes they can claim on that day. Six dates on the calendar are left open for bottlers to add prizes from their own local tie-in partners.
Coke considered calling the campaign Refreshmonth, but opted to reuse the Red Hot Summer moniker it first launched in the early ’90s. The program will have a tier of national prizes as well as account-specific and local overlays with smaller prizes from local partners, similar to the Coke Card.
That popular continuity program will run again this summer with one big addition: Card holders get their own voicemail accounts to receive messages from friends – and product pitches and offers from Coke. Dugan, Valva, Contess of Morristown, NJ, and BEN Marketing of Stamford, CT, worked on the campaign last year, but Coke is expected to execute Coke Card in-house and with bottlers this year.
Coke continues to expand partnerships with regional entertainment properties to strengthen its network for grassroots promotions. The company last week signed a four-year deal as exclusive beverage supplier forFamily Golf Centers’ 119 golf and 29 ice skating and family entertainment centers. Coke will provide marketing and promotion support as part of the deal with the Melville, NY-based chain.
Family Golf has expanded aggressively since going public in 1994, and plans to buy another 25-to-30 golf centers this year. The chain is testing Coke Card offers in Baltimore.
