ATLANTA -- Kroger Co.'s Atlanta division and Coca-Cola Co. here have jointly developed a standard promotion for store openings that heavily emphasizes the hometown soft drink.
The new promotional program relies on large displays and hot prices for Coca-Cola products. A key component is an Eat, Drink & Be Merry! giveaway sweepstakes, in which shoppers at the new stores can win $2,000 worth of groceries, a $1,000 savings bond from Bank South and 1,000 cans of Coca-Cola.
The program also uses extensive in-store and point-of-purchase banners, as well as radio and newspaper advertising.
Officials at the Kroger division here could not be reached for comment on the program. George Barkley, public relations specialist at Coca-Cola, said the new program went into effect earlier this year.
"Kroger came to us recently because they are opening 30 new stores in the Atlanta area in the next three years," Barkley said. "This plan is more efficient and effective than trying to create a promotion every time they open a store."
One of the first stores to use the new promotion was the Lawrenceville, Ga., Kroger store, which opened Feb. 2. It featured Coke and other flavors on sale for $1.19 a six-pack, with an eight-item limit and a $10 purchase. Additional quantities of six-packs were $1.69 each.
A store-level source told SN the Coca-Cola products were merchandised on a massive 12-foot endcap between the produce and nutrition sections, and at the start of the grocery aisles. "We had quite a bit of the Coke in the store and it was selling really fast," said the source.
The exact amounts of Coke sold at the Lawrenceville store during the grand opening could not be determined, the source said. "Coke route men were just bringing Coke out of the back room constantly."
