Last updated on August 22nd, 2014 at 11:56 am
As more than 1,250 independent retailers gathered Aug. 12-14 in St. Paul, Minn., for Supervalu’s first-ever national sales show, Sales 4 All Seasons, the company unveiled the winners of its 2014 Master Marketer Competition during an awards ceremony. The competition recognizes and celebrates the top marketing campaigns from the company’s 1,800-plus independent retailer customers in categories ranging from public service to television to social media.
Coborn’s Inc., based in St. Cloud, Minn., took home the night’s top honor as the 2014 Grand Master Marketer for its comprehensive marketing campaigns over the past year.
“The Master Marketer recognizes the best of the best when it comes to our independent retailers’ advertising and marketing campaigns,” said Janel Haugarth, EVP and president of independent business and supply chain services at Supervalu. “Our independent business customers set the standard when it comes to serving their customers, and we are excited to recognize and celebrate those achievements with them.”
This year, the competition included more than 450 entries from grocery retailers throughout the nation, with 20 winners selected across 10 marketing categories. Each category includes a Tier 1 and Tier 2 winner, with each tier based on size and volume of the company’s business.
In addition to the category winners, an overall Master Marketer for each tier was selected, with Boyer’s Foods of Pennsylvania taking home Tier 1 honors and Sentry Foods from Wisconsin receiving Tier 2’s top recognition.
Each winner was automatically entered into the National Grocers Association’s Creative Choice awards, which is presented at the industry’s annual conference each February.
The full list of winners across all categories, is as follows:
- Extra Effort Advertising-Tier 1: C&K Markets/Ray’s Food Place, Oregon, Lunchbox Giveaway
- Extra Effort Advertising-Tier 2: Sentry Foods, southeast and central Wisconsin, Best Meat in Town
- Grand Opening/Anniversary-Tier 1: Ken’s New Market, Cynthiana and Paris, Ky., 34th Anniversary
- Grand Opening/Anniversary-Tier 2: Landis Market, Telford, Pa., 75th Anniversary
- Public Service/Community-Tier 1: Foster’s Food Fair IGA, Grand Cayman, British West Indies, Food Bank, Health Fair
- Public Service/Community-Tier 2: Shop ‘n Save, Pennsylvania, S.E.E.D Program
- Fresh Departments-Tier 1: Al’s Lakeshore Foods, Michigan, Lobstermania
- Fresh Departments-Tier 2: Coborn’s, Princeton, Minn., Easy as 1-2-3
- Center Store Departments-Tier 1: Western Market, Rocky Ridge, Vestavia Hills, Ala., Warehouse Sale
- Center Store Departments-Tier 2: Mackenthun’s Fine Foods, Waconia, Minn., Gluten Free
- Website/Social Media-Tier 1: Wyatt’s Supervalu, Falmouth, Ky.
- Website Social Media-Tier 2: Wayfield Foods, Atlanta, Ga.
- Private Brands-Tier 1: Boyer’s Food Markets, Pennsylvania, Mrs. B’s Pie Extravaganza
- Private Brands-Tier 2: Remke Markets, Erlanger, Ky., 10 Cent Wednesdays
- Industry Promotions-Tier 1: Handy Foods IGA, Ottawa, Ill., Ribfest
- Industry Promotions-Tier 2: McCaffrey’s Supermarket, Princeton, N.J., Nutella
- Radio Spots-Tier 1: Tatsuda’s IGA, Ketchikan, Ark.
- Radio Spots-Tier 2: Dissmore’s IGA, Pullman, Wash., Steak Place
- TV Commercials-Tier 1: Springfield Market, Richardton, N.D.
- TV Commercials-Tier 2: Skogen’s Festival Foods, Wisconsin, Fresh Flight Fish
Supervalu is one of the largest grocery wholesalers and retailers in the U.S. with annual sales of approximately $17 billion. It serves customers across the U.S. through a network of 3,320 stores composed of 1,805 independent stores serviced primarily by the company’s food distribution business, 1,325 Save-A-Lot stores, of which 931 are operated by licensee owners; and 190 traditional retail grocery stores (store counts as of June 14). Headquartered in Minnesota, Supervalu has approximately 35,000 employees. For more information, visit supervalu.com.
In the feature photo above: Mike McGrogan of Handy Foods, Ottawa, Ill., is a winner for industry promotions.
