BATTLE CREEK, Mich. -- The Kellogg Co. is driving home the healthy aspects of some of its brands by partnering with Shape magazine.
Shoppers at Smith's Food & Drug stores in Utah and Nevada who buy two boxes of select Kellogg cereals -- Special K, Special K Berry, Smart Start and Smart Start Soy -- will get Shape's April issue for free. The Kroger Co., Cincinnati, owns Smith's.
The promotion launched March 6 and runs through March 19.
Kellogg-supplied aisle stacks of the featured cereals are located next to a Shape floor display in the cereal aisle, according to Mike Gillen, vice president, retail marketing for Weider Publications, New York, which publishes Shape. Each floor display contains 40 copies of the April issue, along with an explanation of the program on the header card. The magazines are also available at checkout.
Instantly redeemable coupons are offered on the floor displays and on shelf-talkers located in the cereal aisle by the promoted cereals.
This isn't the first time Kellogg has worked with Shape. A similar promotion ran last month at another Kroger-owned retailer -- King Soopers in Denver -- featuring the March issue of Shape. Kellogg also worked with Shape and King Soopers last year.
Kellogg hasn't decided if it will continue partnering with Shape, but said it's pleased with last year's results and is looking to get additional exposure for its brands, according to Jenny Enochson, director, marketing communications.
Gillen said the program gives Shape credibility with other consumer packaged goods firms that may want to partner with Shape in the future.
"This partnership gives us great visibility in the mass market," Gillen said.
Along with Kellogg, other CPG companies have also shown an interest in Shape. In 2000, Shape ran a retail promotion with several Bristol-Myers Squibb products, including Excedrin, Viactiv and Keri, according to Gillen.
