Circle K Cleveland Indians “Dream Day Partnership”

ACCELERATING BRAND LOYALTY AND DOUBLE DIGIT SALES INCREASES

Hyper-local strategies built loyalty and online engagement

CHALLENGE

To combat increased competitive pressure from national and regional c-store chains, and to strengthen the brand’s roots in their local northeast Ohio communities, the Circle K Great Lakes business unit turned to Ott Communications to develop and execute a campaign that would not only increase customer engagement with the brand, but also drive incremental store traffic.

INSIGHT

Using both primary and secondary research tools, we identified a predictable set of audience segments across multiple store zip codes. A commonality within these segments revealed that c-store customers who have a high purchase rate of soft drinks also exhibit a higher propensity to watch and/or play sports. As a result, we proposed that Circle K initiate a partnership with Cleveland Indians baseball club. The campaign centered on a sweepstakes offering VIP experiences for 25 winners and their guests. Reach-building media was combined with multiple digital and social channels in order to intercept customers throughout their day. Additionally, we planned and placed against each media channel’s strength, using a balance of demographic research, consumer behavior and dayparting strategies.

RESULTS

Over the course of the 7-week campaign, our efforts drove:

  • Approximately 70,000 website visits to the “Dream Day” sweepstakes landing page.
  • Captured almost 14,000 promotion entries, which helped to build the Great Lakes BU customer database.
  • Consumers actively engaged with the promotion and produced more than 5,000 actions on Facebook, including clicks, likes, comments and shares.
  • Ultimately, Circle K realized a double-digit increase in Polar Pop fountain beverage sales versus the same time period a year ago.