WEDDED BLITZ

JOEL ELSON

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Wegmans Food Markets took full advantage of and generated strong sales from the cross-merchandising opportunities offered by videos on soap opera weddings.

"Daytime's Greatest Weddings" from ABC Video, Stamford, Conn., highlighted the weddings on three popular daytime soap operas: "All My Children," "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital." Retail price on the video was $14.98.

Wegmans cross-promoted the soap opera videos with cleaning products, at reading departments near TV and soap opera magazines, and at high-traffic magazine checkstand racks.

Mail-in rebates of $3 and $5 were offered with the purchase of a video and one of three Lysol products: Deodorizing Cleaner, Pine Action and Direct Multi Purpose Cleaner.

"Cross-merchandising soap opera videos with a grocery product is an ideal marketing combination," said Matt Peacock, marketing manager at ABC Video."These titles were very successful at supermarkets. We target a lot of our efforts on these videos with supermarkets because of their heavy traffic."

Wegmans positioned shippers of the soap opera videos along the long row of checkouts at the front end and in its video centers. The retailer used point-of-purchase materials and store fliers to flag shoppers' attention to the tapes, according to local observers.

ABC Video heavily supported the soap opera videos with millions of discount coupons for the Lysol products, which were distributed in freestanding inserts. In addition, a two-week Lysol TV ad campaign during the daytime programming provided greater consumer awareness of the video promotion.

"We launched the entire line with a full media blitz. We staged a publicity event in New York that included a mock wedding with some of the stars, including Susan Lucci," said Peacock. Lucci has portrayed the Erica Kane character on TV for 25 years. The event received coverage in leading consumer publications, including TV Guide.

"Unlike most video stores, a supermarket that cross-merchandises video with grocery products makes it easy for customers. You can pick up both products at one store simultaneously, without traveling to another store," Peacock added.