Upmarket Russian supermarket operator, Azbuka Vkusa, has launched a retailer loyalty scheme offering customers the chance to collect World Football Stars 2018-themed Top Trumps cards.

The promotion was created by retail loyalty specialist BrandLoyalty and games company Winning Moves, which owns the Top Trumps brand and licences it for bespoke promotions as well as for sale in retailers.

Azbuka Vkusa – which translates into English as ‘The Alphabet of Taste’ and which has been called the Waitrose of Russia – is rewarding customers with packs of four random cards every time they spend a minimum of 400 roubles. Shoppers can also buy collectors’ albums to keep and display their card collections.

Winning Moves worked with top UK and European football clubs, including CSKA Moscow, to bring together the collection of 96 leading international soccer stars.

Carl Cliss, Partnerships and Promotions Director at Winning Moves, says: “This type of promotion involves an enormous amount of time and effort, but when you see it come to life it is immensely satisfying – even more so with the promotion being selected to run in a territory where the Top Trumps brand is still relatively unknown. But that’s the beauty of Top Trumps – it’s a simple, straightforward game, with worldwide appeal and relevance.”

Winning Moves, which is a member of UK marketing industry trade body the Institute of Promotional Marketing (IPM), is a leading games company operating in UK, Europe, South Africa, North America and Australasia. As well as owing the hugely popular Top Trumps brand, Winning Moves has a license from Hasbro which allows it to create special versions of games such as Monopoly, Cluedo, Trivial Pursuit, Connect 4 and Guess Who, which are often used in promotional campaigns. Winning Moves has worked with companies including Shell, Sky News, McDonald’s, Kerry Foods, Ferrero, Mirror Group Newspapers, Singapore Airlines, BMW, Peugeot, BT TV, Hovis, British Gas, Merlin Entertainment, Metro Group, Cadbury’s, Nestlé Purina, Coca-Cola and Weetabix.

BrandLoyalty is a global leader in providing innovative, tailor made loyalty programmes for food retailers. Through a tailor-made, data and digital driven approach, it creates incentive-driven shopper loyalty programmes designed to drive immediate improvements in retail performance for food retailers worldwide. BrandLoyalty is part of LoyaltyOne, which also owns AIR MILES, Precima, ICEMOBILE and Colloquy. LoyaltyOne is in turn owned by Alliance Data, which provides the data and analytical support behind loyalty and marketing campaigns for more than 1,000 consumer-facing companies worldwide across retail, travel, pharmaceutical, financial services, auto and more.

The post Russian retailer Azbuka Vkusa runs football stars Top Trumps loyalty scheme appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Quaker Oats is rerunning its successful Overnight Oats on-pack promotion from last summer, but with a twist – consumers will now be able to choose the colour and design of the jar they get.

Last year’s promotion saw 40,000 Mason Jars despatched to consumers, but they had to choose from one of five different designs. In the latest version of the promotion, there are three designs, each in three colourways.

The promotion, running on 1kg packs of Quaker Oats, supports Quaker’s ongoing campaign tapping into the interest in ‘overnight oats’ (oats prepared by being soaked in milk or other liquids in the fridge overnight rather than being cooked). Because they are eaten chilled rather than hot, they are proving more popular during the summer months, traditionally a low period for cooked oats.

The promotion runs until the beginning of June. To claim their jars, consumers have to find the unique codes from promotional packs of 1kg Traditional and Jumbo Rolled Quaker Oats, enter them online at www.quaker.co.uk/overnight and pay postage and packing (which starts at £1.99 for one jar and goes up to £9.99 for nine jars). Each code entitles consumers to one jar, and there is a limit of nine jars per household.

Eric Williams, Quaker Oats Marketing Manager, says: “Last year, we gave away 40,000 mason jars as part of the on-pack promotion – a huge success! This year we are mixing things up by offering consumers the chance to interact with the designs. We know that overnight oats are an increasingly exciting breakfast trend continuing to gain momentum, so we expect some great engagement with the campaign. As 62% of cereal occasions include fruit, especially in overnight oat recipes, and a real skew towards fruit options in the summer months, there is a huge opportunity for retailers to drive sales outside of the usual porridge season.”

In addition to the on-pack promotion, Quaker will be showcasing new overnight oat recipes online to inspire shoppers. The brand will also encourage further interaction across social media channels and via a partnership with popular recipe video creators, TWISTED.

The Quaker Oats brand is owned by PepsiCo. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2016, driven by a food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay and Walkers savoury snacks, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana drinks and Quaker. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

The post Quaker Oats ‘Overnight Oats’ free Mason Jar promotion returns appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Greene King, the official beer sponsor of English cricket and grass-roots rugby, is hosting a major sports-themed nationwide on-pack promotion, created and implemented by Farnham-based marketing agency Ten Feet Tall.

Appearing on 250,000 bottles of IPA, IPA Gold and IPA Reserve, the promotion is running off-trade and is supported by a TV spend in excess of £250,000.

Each bottle wrap showcases one of 10 ‘Great Sporting Moments’, from England’s 1966 World Cup victory to Saracens’ European Double in 2017, and the series of collectable labels features not only football, cricket and rugby but also golf, motorsport and cycling.

Customers are driven online to read not only the full story behind the sporting triumph, but also to discover whether the unique code on their label means they have won a summer-themed gift from the £50,000 prize fund.

Ten Feet Tall MD Ed Hughes says: “Our marketing expertise in the sports and sponsorship arena combined with Greene King’s legendary support of both professional and grass-roots sport make for a winning combination.”

The post Ten Feet Tall creates ‘Great Sporting Moments’ for Greene King IPA appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Weetabix is relaunching its successful Weetabuddies campaign with a new year-long partnership with Cartoon Network. Aimed at inspiring a new generation of cereal eaters, the campaign encourages children to get creative and start the day off in the best way possible – with a healthy nutritious breakfast.

Weetabuddy characters are based on Weetabix wholegrain biscuits and feature a range of toppings, the majority of which are fruit-based to help increase children’s fruit intake at breakfast. In addition, Weetabix biscuits are made from 100% natural wholegrain wheat and are low in sugar, salt and fat while being naturally high in fibre and a source of protein.

The Weetabuddies campaign was first launched in January 2015.

The multi-channel campaign, which goes live on 6th January 2016, aims to encourage more children to add real fruit to their breakfast. Weetabix says that the average 4-10 year old eats only half of their recommended ‘five a day’ target (excluding fruit juice).

In addition to Cartoon Network’s partnership, the brand is spending over £1.7 million in January to promote the Weetabuddies campaign across TV, in-store, social and online, as well as engaging mummy bloggers in an effort to get more kids and their families choosing Weetabix.

The company says the 2015 Weetabuddies campaign was hugely successfully, delivering an increase in sales of 14% by volume and 4% by value year-on-year. Content for the campaign generated 1.5m YouTube views, the brand’s biggest viral success, and the competition received 6,000 entries.

New for 2016, consumers will have the chance to win one of five special edition Weetabuddies soft toys (Tropicolin, Blue Barry, Coach Bananas, Raz Baz and Straws), an offer which will feature on-pack from the beginning of January. To take part, consumers will be encouraged to share their own Weetabuddies creations on the Weetabuddies website and owned social media channels.

Throughout 2016, Cartoon Network and Weetabix will work together to get kids excited about eating a good breakfast. The partnership includes sponsorship of the peak breakfast time slot on Cartoon Network for all of January, April, September and November. There will also be an on-air channel sponsorship of Cartoon Network’s sister channel Boomerang in April and September. Each sponsorship ident will center on different Weetabuddy personalities in a cereal bowl telling each other food-based funnies, hilarious enough to induce the milk snorts!

Cartoon Network has also transformed some of its most famous faces into Weetabuddies for the campaign – from Adventure Time’s Jake the dog to Regular Show’s Rigby and Powerpuff Girls’ Bubbles – so kids will be able to recognise their favourite Cartoon Network characters in their new Weetabix form.

To further support the campaign, Cartoon Network has built a bespoke Weetabix Weetabuddies microsite, where kids will be encouraged to submit their very own Weetabuddy creations and play the exclusive ‘Drench Me’ mini-game. The best Weetabuddy creations will be entered into a competition for the chance to win an iPad, and a select few will even feature on-air on Cartoon Network later in the campaign!

Richard Lawrence, Head of Brand at Weetabix, comments: “When we launched the Weetabuddies campaign last year, our aim was to build the next generation of cereal eaters by getting them excited with a fun and creative way of eating a healthy and nutritious breakfast and upping their intake of fruit. It was our most successful campaign to date, and given the level of interaction with consumers, we wanted to bring it back with an added value reward for consumers. It’s hugely exciting to be partnering with Cartoon Network, and means we’ll be on TV for 52 weeks of the year, encouraging families to get creative and enjoy a fun and nutritious breakfast.”

Zara Peters, sponsorship and promotions director at Turner Broadcasting, says: “We’re thrilled to be working with the iconic breakfast brand Weetabix to help launch the Weetabuddies 2016 campaign. Cartoon Network will feature sponsored Weetabuddies content across our on-air and digital platforms to help encourage kids to get creative and excited about Weetabix’s healthy breakfast cereal.  Cartoon Network values kids creativity and we can’t wait to see their Weetabuddy creations! We believe this campaign will remind kids that mornings can be fun.”

Cartoon Network will utlilise its digital platforms, Cartoon Network Anything and Imagination Studios, to further push the Weetabuddies campaign. Imagination Studios, an online destination that promotes creativity amongst kids aged 6 to 12, will feature a Weetabuddies ‘making of’ video.  The video will include a food stylist explaining to kids how to make their very own Uncle Grandpa Weetabuddy, using healthy toppings and Weetabix. The popular Cartoon Network Anything is a free app that allows kids to experience a stream of short, fun CN content made for the small screen, making content accessible whenever and wherever. Cartoon Network has produced a series of bespoke Weetabuddies content that kids will be able to enjoy across April and September.

The post Weetabix links with Cartoon Network appeared first on IPM Bitesize.

Confused.com has added two new free toys, Miss Herbert and Stunt Herbert, to the rewards which customers can claim when they take out selected products through the price comparison site.
To support the launch of the two Herbert toys, Confused.com have unveiled a new 30” advertisement, in which Stunt Herbert and Miss Herbert’s sibling rivalry is revealed as they compete.
In addition to the ad, the Herberts are proudly sponsoring the second series of ITV’s popular show Ninja Warrior UK. The show starts in January and features contestants trying to battle their way through one of the world’s toughest obstacle courses in the hope of being crowned the ultimate Ninja Warrior.
Confused.com says it decided to expand its collectable family of toys and give customers more opportunities to claim them after the success of its free BRIAN the Robot toy, which launched in February 2015.
From now on, customers who take out car, home, life, van, motorbike or pet insurance or a credit card through Confused.com can choose between one of the three collectable toys: BRIAN, Miss Herbert and Stunt Herbert.
The toys have been developed in partnership with promotional marketing agency ATOM Marketing.
The Herberts were first seen coming to the aid of BRIAN when he was captured by metal scrapyard dealers last Christmas and have been by BRIAN’s side ever since. And due to popular demand Confused.com have now launched two new toys, Miss Herbert and Stunt Herbert.
The new pull-and-go toys are designed to encapsulate the characters’ personalities. Miss Herbert is sweet, sparkly and as hard as nails. Her toy comes with a set of stickers and an activity wheel that helps you decide what games to play with her. Stunt Herbert is the hardest, most daring and most reckless of the Herberts, and his bobble-headed toy comes with a fun target game.
The Ninja Warrior UK sponsorship is being marked with a series of different idents starring Miss Herbert and Stunt Herbert as their sibling rivalry boils over. These idents range from five to 15 seconds in length and feature Miss and Stunt attempting to outdo each other as they try to capture the audience’s attention.
To further support the toy launch, Confused.com are focusing on social media in a new fully-integrated advertising campaign. Consumers will be able to get involved and pick a team: Team Miss, Team Stunt or Team BRIAN via Confused.com’s social channels.
Fiona Creedon, Head of Advertising at Confused.com, says: “Since the launch of our BRIAN the robot toy we’ve seen his popularity soar and felt it was time to expand his family. The Herberts were introduced last Christmas and since then we’ve seen people’s affections grow for these loveable robots.”
Confused.com, launched in 2002, was the UK’s first price comparison site for car insurance. It has expanded its range of comparison products over the last couple of years to include home insurance, holiday insurance, pet insurance, small van insurance, motorcycle insurance, breakdown cover and gas and electricity, as well as financial services products including credit cards, loans, mortgages and life insurance. Confused.com is owned by the Admiral Group plc.
ATOM Marketing is a promotional marketing agency specialising in creating and managing campaigns for some of the UK and Europe’s biggest brands.

The post Confused.com adds two new Herbert toys appeared first on IPM Bitesize.