TROPICANA OFFERS GAZE AT THE STARS

PAT NATSCHKE LENIUS

CHICAGO -- To promote its Pure Tropics 100% juice line as a preferred all-family beverage in the Chicago market, Tropicana gave local shoppers a free look at the stars.

The company partnered with Adler Planetarium for an in-store program at Dominick's Finer Foods and Omni SuperStores that awarded free tickets to shoppers who purchased two 64-ounce cartons of the juices.

Consumers were invited to bring a certificate available at the stores plus two UPC codes as proof of purchase to Adler Planetarium to obtain a free admission with purchase of a second general admission of equal or greater value. "We believe we achieved taking Pure Tropics to the level of being extremely important to our business and the trade, and established the brand as the preferred all-family 100% juice," said Stephen Fisher, vice president and general manager at Tropicana's Central division in Mount Prospect, Ill., which created the promotion. Tropicana is headquartered in Bradenton, Fla.

Tropicana Pure Tropics is a chilled 100% juice beverage available in four flavors: orange pineapple, orange kiwi passion, orange peach mango and orange strawberry banana. The promotion, which ran from Nov. 19 through Jan. 15, was timed for the Christmas vacation period, when families would be likely to have time to visit the Planetarium, said Cathleen Dennett, director of marketing.

"We wanted to establish Tropicana Pure Tropics as part of Chicago, make it feel more like a product made in Chicago vs. one made in Bradenton," Dennett said.

Dominick's Finer Foods, Northlake, Ill., an 85-unit chain, was approached because it is family-owned, it plays a big role in the Chicago marketplace, and its customer profile matches the brand's target consumer of suburban families with children, she said.

Omni SuperStores, a 16-unit sister chain to Dominick's, "was also very interested in the program, based on their desire to attract large families, so it became a total chain event," Dennett said.

Customers of Adler Planetarium also match the target profile for Pure Tropics. "Not only could we deliver the kind of consumer they were looking for, they could deliver back to us," she said.

The planetarium certificates were printed on carton neckhangers and included on Dominick's in-store fliers. The promotion was supported with co-op radio spots that named all three partners and an in-store sampling program that hit selected stores on Fridays and Saturdays, Dennett said. Secondary displays of the product were set up near the sampling booth, and in-store instant coupons were distributed.