GREENFIELD, Wis. -- As spring training gets under way, a Midwest retailer is warming up along with the ballplayers. But in this case, the pitch is a season-long promotion involving sausages.
The operator, a Super Saver unit located here, is partnering with some unlikely allies in a program that co-brands its deli counter with locally recognized sausage characters that are part of the "eatertainment" at Milwaukee Brewers' games.
"They have these characters called the sausage racers you'll see in Milwaukee Stadium during the seventh-inning stretch," said George Venti, director of deli and bakery for the Waukesha, Wis.-based retailer. "And we're using that theme in the [deli] department."
According to Venti, the characters were developed by Klement's Sausage Co., headquartered in Milwaukee. He said that Super Saver, in conjunction with Klement's, developed the program to raise product awareness and to boost sales in the deli area.
Venti said that, while it is too early to gauge the effect of the promotion on sales, it has drawn the curious out to the store. The retailer launched the promotion with a two-day, in-store appearance by the four 8-foot-tall sausage characters during the first week of the promotion back in November.
Venti said that they are promoting Klement's sausage products in the chain's food-court concept called "The Works," where prepared deli meats such as hot dogs and bratwurst are merchandised. Here, they command their own positioning, and are merchandised separately from the rest of the deli product mix.
"Klement's is a locally known manufacturer in this area, so we're using their hot dogs, their bratwurst, their Polish sausage, their Italian sausage," he said. "We are just branding it at this point in time using the Klement's logo."
He said the sausage products are currently carrying "average" price points compared with the retailer's other brands. He also noted that the marketing push for these products "has drawn some attention to the [deli] area."
According to Heather Sobieski, marketing and product manager for Klement's, Super Saver is presently selling four of Klement's products -- the Italian sausage, the Chicago-style hot dog, the bratwurst and the all-American hot dog -- each of which is represented by the four sausage characters.
Sobieski said the individual price for any one of the four hot dogs at Super Saver's "The Works" is $1.49. There is also a value meal offer that includes a soda and choice of the hot dogs for $1.99, she said. Toppings, including relish and onions, are free.
Originally, Klement's chose to test the program at Super Saver because the unit was already set up with a precooked service counter that included hot dogs, bratwurst and other sausages and offered the appropriate selection of condiments. She also noted that the layout is set up like a cafe, and includes a seating area with 10 to 15 tables.
"They're trying to answer home-meal replacement," said Sobieski. "Instead of people running to Burger King, they're trying to get people to run to Super Saver. Grab your hot dog, grab a gallon of milk and then go home."
Super Saver carried Klement's products prior to the promotion, she explained, but customers were unaware of the connection between Klement's products and the sausage characters. She said the goal was to tie in the characters with the products through in-store promotions and character appearances.
Consumers are reminded of the connection at the deli counter through a 72-inch poster board, installed under the counter, depicting all four of the characters. Sobieski also said that a set of four 52-inch-high, freestanding poster boards was placed on both sides of the counter, each one of which represents a particular character.
Besides guest appearances by the sausage characters, the program was also kicked off with the addition of a New York-style street vendor hot dog cart serving the Klement's products, installed in the deli area, she said. Prior to that, fliers were used as bag stuffers, announcing the in-store appearance of the sausage racers, she said.
Over the past three years, the sausage racers began drawing attention to retail-level sales, due to a number of in-store giveaways by a handful of local supermarkets, including Piggly Wiggly, based in Hampton, S.C.; Kohl's, owned by Montvale, N.J.-based A&P; and Century, owned by Fleming Cos., Oklahoma City.
