First-Ever Wrigley/Mars Joint In-Store Promotion Gets Underway

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. — Mars Chocolate North America and Wrigley started 2016 by launching their first joint selling program. The program is supported by a series of integrated activities, including joint in-store displays and consumer promotions designed to help retailers drive sales around the Super Bowl, which marks the year's biggest snacking occasion after Thanksgiving.

The joint program is a first for the sister companies, as CSNews Online previously reported. It runs from Dec. 28 through Feb. 29.

Shoppers are encouraged to text SWEET50 to 87654 for the chance to win a series of instant prizes, which range from $75 NFLShop.com e-gift cards to free Snickers, M&M'S, Twix, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way, Skittles and Starburst products awarded as coupons. They can also win the grand-prize package that includes everything necessary to enjoy a football game at home, including a $2,000 electronics gift card, $600 prepaid debit card and a $250 NFLShop.com e-gift card.

While both Mars and Wrigley have supported the Super Bowl in the past, this joint partnership offers greater opportunities to retailers because chocolate and non-chocolate items are "and" purchases with each other and other Super Bowl snacks, the companies said. Ninety-seven percent of consumers who buy non-chocolate confections also buy chocolate, and 76 percent of those who buy chocolate also buy non-chocolate confections.

Mars and Wrigley brands are also strong drivers of impulse purchases, particularly when merchandised near salty, game-day foods. Sixty-seven percent of grocery shoppers who intend to buy just soft drinks and salty snacks end up buying confectionery, and the velocity of Mars-Wrigley products grows by 15 percent when merchandised near non-confectionery snacks, according to company data.