Kangaroo Express Finds Its Voice

Roo mascot is key to The Pantry's new brand image

Arguably the biggest introduction yet from The Pantry is Roo — at least from a brand perspective. The company's mascot, which is usually “seen” in shaded profile on store signs, will play a bigger role in the chain's promotional efforts beginning this fall and will give voice to the Kangaroo Express brand, said Dave Henninger, vice president of marketing services.

An all-new radio campaign featuring Roo launches this fall, and he'll play a larger role on the retailer's website, Facebook and Twitter communications moving forward. “The character is becoming an interesting phenomenon,” said Henninger.

The fun, interesting, witty and sincere Roo character exploded in popularity this summer during Kangaroo Express' “Salute Our Troops” campaign, designed to raise money for charities that serve military families. The initiative, which also was crafted to expand the chain's cold dispensed beverage program especially with a younger demographic (teens and young 20s), heightened awareness of the c-store chain beyond the company's original plan and catapulted Roo to pop culture icon status in its markets.

The campaign won on all fronts: it raised two-and-a-half times as much money as Kangaroo Express expected ($2.5 million vs. the expected $1 million); blasted through 250,000 20-ounce refillable cups in the promotion undertaken to increase sales of fountain drinks; and received great gifts from the market in the form of customer coined phrases the chain is turning into a promotional initiative that has only begun to deliver benefits. Now added to the marketing vernacular: “Roo Cup” and “Roo Run.”

The three-pronged Salute Our Troops campaign was launched in conjunction with $6.99 graphic-rich refillable cold cups, which were designed to drive cold beverage sales and be a catalyst to bring customers into stores all summer for free refills and to make donations to benefit the USO and Wounded Warrior Project. State-based military support organizations that benefit soldiers and their families in five states also benefited from this initiative. The program really resonated with employees and customers alike, and the cups sold out quickly with some of them promoted by consumers as “Roo Cups” selling on eBay for as much as $40 each, Henninger said. In the interim, the newly minted “Roo Cups” became the necessary equipment for a summer “Roo Run.”

The program was “just off the hook amazing,” declared Henninger.

This kind of marketing, and now the introduction of radio advertising, are both new endeavors for Kangaroo Express. With such early success, more of both can be expected. “People want to engage with us and connect with the kangaroo,” he said.

Kangaroo Express will deliver both engaging content and the playful Roo. Consumers can get a feel for Roo's personality on the Kangaroo Express website by checking out the Bean Street Coffee pages. The “voice” of Roo welcomes visitors with his caffeinated personality: “The Roo Wants to Hook You Up,” says the audio.

Henninger noted that the chain will leverage social media, the company's website and the new Roo Blog, along with relationship-based marketing efforts including the launch of a Kangaroo Express mobile app this fall that will join all the digital and Internet efforts together. The app will likely feature a forum to “check in” on Kangaroo Express locations, enable users to share their experience with friends and provide customer feedback. The retailer also will build a loyalty program and connect QR codes to it.

Building its social media presence is important to Kangaroo Express because it's the way to reach young consumers, the company's target demographic. The program is building quickly, Henninger acknowledged, reporting the chain amassed approximately 4,000 “friends” on Facebook in four months and another 650 on Twitter — and continues to grow.

The c-store chain is just getting started in social media. Executives view social media as a vital growth vehicle that will provide lasting benefits: a loyal customer base for years and hopefully forever. Right now, the company is having fun developing concepts and “playing” with them to see what fits best. For National Coffee Day on Sept. 29, Kangaroo Express announced on Facebook that it had hidden Bean Street Coffee Roo Mugs around Charlotte, N.C., for locals to find. Successful sleuths got their first mug of coffee for free. On Twitter and Facebook, the chain is holding Roo Game of the Week contests. Any customer who submits the final score of a particular game prior to kickoff wins a $10 gift card.

In addition, Kangaroo Express introduced a text-message campaign, providing special benefits to Roo Club members. This effort, undertaken to quickly reach younger customers in a way that meets their communication expectations, advises them on promotions and other important company messages in quick info blurbs. The program promptly grew to 4,000 members and that number continues to build.

On the product side, the Roo Cup launch around the Salute Our Troops campaign was intended to invigorate the fountain and frozen beverage programs, which Henninger said were underdeveloped compared to the competition. As with all implemented marketing programs, the effort was undertaken to provide consumers with value, drive traffic to the stores and increase visit frequency, as well as support the troops. And, Henninger admitted, the company also was looking for the promotion to add a hipper, younger vibe to the chain for long-lasting appeal.

Roo Talk

He's edgy and a real jokester — and he's the voice of Kangaroo Express. Here's some of what Roo has to say about coffee. He'll be weighing in on other topics, too.

• “Sleep is an inadequate substitute for coffee.”

• “People ask me if I wake up grumpy every morning. I say, ‘No, I just bring her coffee.’”

• “I don't have a problem with caffeine. I have a problem without it.”

• “There is no such thing as strong coffee, just weak people.”

• “A man went to his psychiatrist and said, ‘Every time I drink my coffee, I get a stabbing pain in my right eye.’ The psychiatrist said, ‘Well, have you tried taking the spoon out?’”

• “What's the difference between coffee and your mother-in-law? You can talk over coffee.”

The success of the Salute Our Troops program from the beverage perspective was “off the charts” as well, said Henninger, with all the cups selling out in the first two weeks. That success prompted Kangaroo Express to launch a similar program with the University of Florida for the 2011 football season featuring the Florida Gators logo.

The results have been fantastic, he said. As of early September, its Florida stores were moving 15,000 cups in four weeks, followed by a second order of 12,000 cups, which Henninger said was expected to last 30 to 45 days. The program is offering 25-cent refills on fountain drinks through the end of November, also the end of college football season.

This initiative expanded to include specially promoted grill offerings, to drive hot dog sales and combo meals. The goal for August, Henninger said, was to sell one million hot dogs. At $1.50 for a hot dog and a fountain drink, traffic mounted and company executives were so happy with the program, they decided to continue the promotion beyond the original summer deadline.

The overwhelming success of the Salute Our Troops and Florida Gators fountain drink programs is giving way to a “roadmap of expansion,” now in development at Kangaroo Express convenience stores.

This success, on the heels of the sweeping upgrades to the company's coffee program — Bean Street Coffee — and interior overhaul are proving to be transformative for the chain.

“We don't want to be an average convenience store,” said Henninger. “We're bigger than that, better than that.”

The Salute Our Troops initiative was successful on all points and it will be bigger next year, as will other marketing programs. “It has given us hope that we can up the fountain category,” Henninger said, stating the core category has grown. This provides Kangaroo Express with the encouragement to further invest in fountain as part of the company's Fresh program. In the Gainesville, Fla., area, for example, local stores have doubled the number of fountain valves from eight to 16 to meet continued demand.

“We're going to make fountain and frozen [beverages] a bigger part of our initiative. We're going to get this program on track; it's given us confidence and momentum,” he said. “We're about growth. Grow our top line, grow our bottom line, grow our foodservice. A well-developed fountain program is key to growth.”

Corporate marketing has accelerated in the last year and the payoff has been tallied in three key areas: coffee, fountain drinks and the grill.

Further extension of the fountain and frozen initiative will be around the grill program, which Henninger said also was underdeveloped, and Roo will be used to make a bigger statement in this key area. It will be Roo's voice in the upcoming radio spots calling attention to the grill-fountain opportunity. This summer's $1.50 hot dog and 20-ounce fountain drink combo meal promotion drove up sales 50 percent.

At its core, Kangaroo Express wants to make shopping at its stores easier, faster and more enjoyable for customers, and while executives continue to develop merchandising programs to satisfy shoppers' many needs, the marketing team will create upbeat messaging campaigns that drive in foot traffic. Among the latest introductions is the Kangaroo Express Gift Card, available in any denomination from $5 to $500. The reloadable gift card can be used to purchase fuel, food, beverages or other products at any Kangaroo Express store.

EXECUTIVE SPOTLIGHT:

Dave Henninger, Vice President of Marketing Services

As the executive responsible for overseeing marketing plans at The Pantry, Dave Henninger develops and implements the chain's integrated marketing strategies, including brand and creative development, advertising, digital and foodservice marketing, promotions and event planning.

Prior to joining The Pantry in May 2010, Henninger was an executive vice president with Retention Education, a company dedicated to transforming the Hispanic community through education. Before that, he was with The Coca-Cola Co. for 12 years, lastly as director of customer marketing for Coca-Cola Foodservice. He is credited with having led the development and rollout of several innovative Hispanic and teen-oriented consumer marketing programs, as well as managing the marketing relationships with such West region foodservice customers as Jack in the Box, Del Taco, Carl's Jr., Whataburger and El Pollo Loco.

Previous to his tenure at Coca-Cola, Henninger worked for Kraft General Foods and Colgate-Palmolive. Henninger holds a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Ohio State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.