STORES TOUT DAIRY, DELI, BAKERY ON RADIO

JUDY CORCORAN

HASBROUCK HEIGHTS, N.J. -- A promotion involving radio and freestanding inserts last month urged shoppers to look for brands in the dairy, deli and bakery sections of supermarkets in the New York metropolitan area. It was coordinated by the Eastern Dairy Deli Bakery Association here, which called January "Triple Treat Month."

The campaign suggested a trip to the dairy, deli and bakery sections of supermarkets to pick up specific brands. It featured Karl Nelson, former New York Giant, as spokesman for a Super Bowl Party tie-in and included sweepstakes with a Caribbean vacation as the grand prize.

"Our objective is to get more customers into the dairy, deli, bakery sections of the supermarkets," said Marvin Spira, EDDA executive director. "It's in these sections that a supermarket can show its individual personality, and that's still important to a lot of customers."

Thirty-one different brand

marketers took part in the promotion. Some of the brands included Yoplait yogurt, Yoo-hoo chocolate drink, Friendship cottage cheese and Adam and Eve apple juice.

The retailers taking part were: A&P, Foodtown Supermarkets, King Kullen Grocery Co., ShopRite Supermarkets, Pathmark Stores, Waldbaum's, Food Emporium, Grand Union Co., Key Food Stores, Kings Super Markets, D'Agostino Supermarkets, Gristede's, Pioneer, Bravo, Met Foods, and C-Town.

The radio effort consisted of 50 30-second commercials on WMXV-FM, WCBS-FM and WINS-AM that alternated brand and retail tags and ran over a two-week period.

On Jan. 20, 3.5 million FSIs were distributed via 14 New York-area newspapers ranging from as far south as Asbury Park, N.J., to Peekskill, N.Y., in the north, and the New York Daily News and Long Island's Newsday were among them.

The FSIs carried a mail-in coupon for their Caribbean Treat Sweepstakes, which offers a four-day, three-night trip to Nassau as the grand prize and seven supermarket gift certificates in varying amounts as other prizes. Entries are due March 31. EDDA's Spira said that today consumers are more conscious of brands in the dairy, deli, bakery sections than they were a few years ago. "Consumers now look for a certain brand of potato salad or cold cut, whereas before they didn't know 'brands' existed in these sections. Plus, consumers are more aware of the consistent quality that brands offer.

"Many supermarkets know this and now mark their dairy, deli, bakery items by brand," he said.