Local supermarket Spinneys is giving away 10 new cars as part of its 100-day promotion and advertising drive from May to early August. Lebanon’s expansive supermarket chain describes as “by far the largest ever” for such a campaign in retail here.
Putting out prizes worth “just short of $300,000” and investing into advertising and below-the-line product promotions, the three-tiered campaign carries a value of $600,000, Spinneys’ Middle East retail director Michael Wright told Executive. Results have been in line with expectations and have brought the company month-on-month sales growth of 15% to 20%.
The campaign’s unprecedented size is based on both sales volumes and increased geographical presence of Spinneys markets in Lebanon. “Our advertising budget is directly related to our top-line sales,” Wright said. When the company operated at single branch level, even nationwide campaigns had been of limited effect, because customers would not find their way to the store, he added.
While some of the chain’s previous promotion efforts, such as introduction of coupons in 2003, seemed over-complicated for local habits and were not carried further, the current high visibility campaign apparently strikes a strong chord with Lebanese consumers. Under the rules of the campaign, a customer receives one ticket participating in the draw for the car prizes per each $34 in purchases.
The mechanics of the car giveaway follows the rules for lotteries under Lebanese law, by which prizes must amount to at least 3% of the accumulated value of participating tickets. Thus the campaign is geared towards achieving $10 million worth of tickets. For those who have a penchant for a gamble, this places the odds for winning an extra four wheels with your LL50,000 purchase at one in 30,000.
