THE World Cup is almost upon us but will independent and convenience retailers gain all the benefits they possibly can from the massive football festival, featuring the planet’s best teams, on free-to-air TV in UK prime time, that starts on 12 June?
Johnson & Johnson, official healthcare sponsor of the FIFA 2014 World Cup says that during the 2010 FIFA World Cup independent retailers and symbol groups saw their biggest sales increase in three years; the World Cup boost delivered more than 6.9% growth in symbols and independents, and that beat the sales growth of the major mults in the same period.
Yet, says the healthcare specialist, according to retail research firm HIM more than two in three shoppers want to see local stores get behind the big events even more.
The company is running promotions exclusively for independent and symbol retailers to support distribution of its brands and mark its own global involvement as FIFA 2014 World Cup official healthcare sponsor. Featuring leading brands such as Listerine, Sudafed, Calpol, Calprofen, Johnson’s Baby and Benadryl, the promotional scheme allows retailers to exchange barcodes for exclusive FIFA 2014 World Cup merchandise. To receive tournament-branded items, including pens, cool-bags and sports bags, retailers simply collect the barcodes from the promoted brands and return them to Johnson & Johnson.
And the firm reckons retailers can be confident that shoppers will also be looking for the Johnson & Johnson brands involved in the promotion as it’s also introducing its Caring Everyday consumer activity.
Its portfolio covers infant care, beauty, healthcare, oral care and nutritional categories and its Caring Everyday message stresses that caring for those around you is a full time job. So, to help busy mums, dads and families, the Caring Everyday website (www.caringeveryday.co.uk) provides a host of tips, and advice as well as money-off coupons that shoppers can redeem against the company’s brands.
Johnson & Johnson says its Johnson’s Baby Toiletries and Wipes brand has annual sales worth more than £2.2m in convenience outlets, and market-leading Listerine mouthwash pitches in with another £1.4m in c-store sales. In over-the-counter (OTC) medicines its decongestant brand Sudafed has sales worth more than £700k and its allergy-relief brand Benadryl adds another £430k to c-store sales. The combined value of the Calpol brand in the convenience channel is over £5.2m – equating to almost 90% share of infant pain relief sales.
Retailers can choose which brands to stock to collect barcodes to exchange for the World Cup merchandise. By stocking six cases across the Johnson & Johnson range retailers can collect all four of the gifts on offer.
Johnson & Johnson wrote recently to more than 23,000 UK retailers explaining the promotion and including pre-addressed envelopes to make it easy for retailers to return their traded-pack barcodes. Retailers can also send their details to J&J World Cup Promotion, Freepost Mid19809, Wolverhampton, WV10 9BR and ask for a free World Cup promotion pack, which will be sent in the post.
