DIXIELAND BAND ON HAND TO SPARK RUSSO'S GRILLING SEASON

MARYELLEN LO BOSCO / Additional reporting: ROSEANN HARPER

CHESTERLAND, Ohio -- Russo's Supermarkets here ushered in the grilling season with a special storewide promotion that used endcap displays, tastings, recipes and a Dixieland band.

The promotion began in mid-June and went through the Fourth of July weekend. Russo's cross merchandised items from all over the store on endcap displays, according to Kathryn Lowe, marketing and public relations director. These included barbecue sauces, pickles, mustards, salsa, hot pads and mitts, grilling tools, blue corn chips, charcoal briquettes and popcorn.

"We're doing PopNots! in four flavors, a new product that was introduced at the Fancy Food show in San Francisco," said Lowe when she talked to SN late last month. "We seek new products to introduce when we are doing a promotion."

Demos, scheduled during times of heavy store traffic, used promotional products as part of a finished recipe, Lowe explained. For example, marinades were demoed as part of a meat recipe.

Each of the four Russo's units was given latitude in how it wished to run the grilling promotion. One store manager built a "cabin in the woods" as an endcap display, Lowe said, "and he pulled products from just about every nonperishables department for that one."

While the promotion involved mostly grocery products, Lowe supplied grilling recipes for fresh departments as well as grocery. "My recipes are for grilled vegetables, flank steak and salmon, using marinades," she said. "We're promoting Consorzio's marinades for the first time."

Lowe said that a Dixieland band played in all the stores for about an hour July 2 as part of the promotion. "They played all kinds of music, including John Philip Sousa marches. Our customers look forward to this type of thing," she said. "This is the Dixieland band that plays at all the Cleveland Indians home games."

Russo's June newsletter was also tied in with the grilling promotion and included information on how to start a fire and cook on a grill, as well as food prep and recipe information. The newsletter also announced June savings on promotional items.