FINAST TRIES MILKING MORE SALES FROM DAIRY MONTH

PAMELA BLAMEY

MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio -- Finast here is hoping to boost sales with a new "Dairy Celebration Month" in June.

"It was stimulated by the tremendous activity that our market had with National Frozen Month in March," said Jim Forkin, chief operating officer of Buckeye Sales & Marketing, a consulting group based in Twinsburg, Ohio.

"The results this year were outstanding, and [Finast dairy category manager] JoAnne Salvatore picked it up and said, 'If it worked so well for frozens, why can't we do it with dairy?' " Included in the program is a coloring contest for children, a "lip-smacking" program inspired by the national "milk moustache" campaign, and a display contest for dairy managers.

Finast spokeswoman Susan Alcorn said it was too soon to judge the level of participation in the program. "But people have been getting excited about it and we're hopeful that it will generate a lot of interest," she told SN. The coloring contest involves cross-merchandising with a Crayola display in center store.

"The kids color in their entries, and they can enter as many times as they want," Forkin said. "Entries will be hung all around the store, and then we'll give away four mountain bikes to the winners."

The other contest is open to all ages, Forkin said. "We're picking up on the milk moustache campaign, which has improved milk sales a little, so we're going to play off that. People will come in, drink a glass of milk and we're going to

take a picture and see if they have a moustache." The grand prize is a trip for four to the U.S. Space Camp in Alabama.

No purchase is necessary to enter either contest, which Forkin said is just a vehicle for the message "Buy dairy products!" An entry box will be placed in the dairy department of each of Finast's 41 stores.

Dairy managers have their own contest, which Alcorn said will be judged not only on decoration and signage for the promotion, but also on the increase in dairy sales generated from it, as well as in-stock conditions on weekly sales items. Brokers, area managers and members of the executive committee will serve as judges.

To support the program, Finast is going to run a full-page ad each week for four weeks, publicizing the two consumer contests. "I think other competitors, when they evaluate that program and see the benefit of having a dairy month, they'll want to do it too," said Forkin.