The insights team saw a total of 11 new and current promotions at Asda and an impressive host of promotional displays in-store - the supermarket offers brands a lot of options in terms of display, including various styles of aisle fins and shelf stoppers; overhead signs to capture shopper attention - even at a distance; and floor decals to interrupt and grab the attention of passing shoppers - all of these displays culminate to create an in-store experience that will capture the attention of shoppers and direct attention to those brands with shopper activations; creating brand takeovers that are sure to get consumers intrigued in the product offerings.
Asda’s digital retail promotions
Win A Weekend Stay At Alton Towers Resort With Carex
Minions / Despicable Me 4 - Win Mega Bucks With Premier Foods
A Chance To Win £250 Asda Gift Card With Bayer
Growing Grassroots With Cadbury FC
Win An Epic City Break To The USA With McCoy’s
Win A Well Earned Glamping Escape With The Woodsman
Overview on Asda’s promotional & point-of-sale (POS) materials
Overhead signs
Aisle fins, shelf stoppers, and barkers
Floor decals
Brand shelf takeovers
Britvic’s “Buy Spin Win! Will You Be A Cash Winner?” Promotion With Tango & 7UP
Premier Foods’ “Win Mega Prizes” Promotion With Mr Kipling, Angel Delight, and Ambrosia
Relentless Energy’s JBL Giveaway Promotion
Premier Foods’ “Who Stole The Recipe” Promotion With Cluedo, Lloyd Grossman, Sharwoods, and The Spice Tailor
Weetabix’s “Chance To Win A Smart Watch Every Day Or 1 Of 2000 Footballs” Promotion
Nestle Cereals’ “Chance To Win Paris 2024 Paralympics Experience In Weekly Draws” Promotion
Jim Beam’s “Win £150 Live Music Voucher” Promotion
Sangre De Toro’s “Win A Trip To Spain” Promotion
“Win With STUDIO by Miraval” Promotion
Henry Westons’ “Win A Taste Of Adventure” Promotion
Persil’s “Grassroots Football” Promotion
Ribena’s “Win family experiences every day”
Cadbury “Cadbury 200: Win A Chunk Of History”
Shoppers will also find some of Asda’s own promoter promotions being promoted in-store, While there’s no on-pack promotion, Asda uses promotional displays such as free-standing display units (FSDU) in store to funnel shopper attention to their promotions page found on their website.
Asda’s promotions boast a fairly wide selection, working with several brands to offer these promotions, most of which are prize draws.
There were 6 promotions still up on the website in mid-to-late July. The promotions that the PromoNow insights team recorded are as follows:
For this prize draw, Asda was the data controller for this promotion but PZ Cussons, owner of Carex, was the official promoter - handling the digital and prize fulfilment is the Manchester agency, Clearsilver Brand Marketing, and they “administer the competition on behalf of Asda.” With the promotion being a completely free prize draw, no purchase is necessary to enter for the chance to be one of 10 winners. The promotion targets families, with each prize offering 2 adult and 2 child weekend stays at the Alton Towers Resort.
Exclusive to Asda, this promotion is also a prize draw wherein the retailer, Asda, is the data handler, whilst the promoter is Premier Foods, brand owner of Ambrosia, Angel Delight, and Mr Kipling products. The digital agency in this case was 20Ten Creative.
Premier Foods ran its separate promotion under the same name, instead, opting to support the promotion in-store as an on-pack promotion. The main promotion also works with 20Ten Creative and Active Consultancy to bring this promotion to audiences. The main promotion was also supported with various promotional displays, including an on-pack design.
This prize draw does not directly involve the brand owner who is, in this case, Bayer, the brand owner of the brands Clarityn, Rennie, and Berocca, as they are not referenced in the promotional material other than as a point of marketing and leveraging the brands’ names. Within this promotion, Asda takes charge as the ‘promoter’. For this promotion, the data controller and digital agency is, again, Clearsilver Brand Marketing. Since it’s not a purchase necessary prize draw, as a choice it’s interesting to see Asda pick a brand to be the ‘face’ of this particular promotion. This promotion was supported with an in-store display and a free-standing unit on the end cap of an aisle.
As the data controller and promoter, Asda offers shoppers the chance to win a pair of football tickets. For this promotion, Clearsilver Brand Marketing are the digital agency, as with many other promotions offered by Asda.
This prize draw hosted online by Asda is a purchase-necessary prize draw. Working with KP brands to bring shoppers this promotion, the roles of both the promoter and data controller were the responsibility of Asda.
This next promotion is also a purchase-required prize draw - with the representing brand being the whiskey brand, The Woodsman, owned by Whyte & Mackay. Although they’re the official promoter, the digital aspects of the promotion are led by Cloud Nine Incentives.
The insights team observed many promotional and POS techniques used in Asda. From PromoNow’s first ‘promotions seen’ article on Asda, the supermarket has been using a range of promotional displays to support promotions in-store.
Overhead sign fixtures in Asda were positioned in designated areas primarily over the end cap area, but the displays used for the signs were changed accordingly. There were several overhead signs, displaying various branded and retailer promotions. These promotional displays are an effective tool to capture shopper attention from a distance.
These displays were found around the store, used liberally across every aisle as a singular promotional technique for a brand and in conjunction with other promotional displays to enhance the shopper experience, stopping shoppers within certain areas and calling out to occupy shoppers’ attention.
There were a few floor decals in-store, whilst not as many as some other promotional displays, the minimal use makes each occasion more of a stand-out. Floor decals were also one of the rare promotional displays used in the health and beauty section of the supermarket - while retailers like Boots and Superdrug use unique promotional displays frequently in stores - featuring installations and customised shelving, in supermarkets, many beauty brands lack that support via displays.
The St. Pierre decal was part of a larger brand takeover and the unique shape was eye-catching and drew attention to the greater display in play. Among more simply shaped decals, using more unique shapes made it all the more intriguing.
As mentioned above, St. Pierre had a brand takeover in Asda. Following and in support of their ‘Eat Avec Respect’ campaign. which touched on the brand’s “authentic French baking recipes”. Taking on a comedic tone and encapturing the attention of UK shoppers via the video ad as shown below:
Outside of St. Pierre’s takeover, many other brands also had dedicated areas on shelves for their brand. Employing shelf takeovers can help a brand establish itself within its product category, especially in retailers where they’re often placed right next to direct competitors; having the opportunity to stand out with a full shelf takeover presents a brand as ‘the primary choice’.
This promotion by Britvic soft drinks is found exclusively to Asda with the soft drinks brands, 7UP and Tango as the headline brands representing the promotion. Using a ‘spin-to-win’ mechanic to add a gamification detail to engage shoppers both in stores as well as within the process of the promotion, this prize draw also utilises a promotional microsite to host the promotion which can be found at, spinwith7upandtango.co.uk and uses receipt validation to make sure entries follow the terms and conditions laid out. The digital shopper marketing agency leading this brand promotion was Savvy Marketing.
Adding some touches of gamification is often a differentiating factor between a brand that uses it and a brand that does not, it engages with the entrant directly and provides a ‘pseudo skill’ aspect which makes participants want to return and give the promotion another try. It’s an easy integration and you can brand and customise the wheel as needed, adding a bit of liveliness and intrigue to the promotion itself and maintaining consistency in visuals to your brand as well as being a mobile-friendly and intuitive experience for users, have a quick try yourself.
This partnership promotion between some brands under Premier Foods and Despicable Me 4 with various promotional displays as well as the on-pack promotion, this brand collaboration succeeded with their shelf takeovers in Asda.
Acting as the ‘hero brands’ of this promotion, Mr Kipling, Angel Delight, and Ambrosia each support the promotion with their on-pack promotional designs. To facilitate the promotion, a promotional microsite, found at winmegaprizes.co.uk, was also built to accommodate entries, the entry used a form and an OTP (one-time passcode) sent to the mobile number submitted in the form provided.
Although Relentless opts out of using an on-pack promotion, to promote the prize draw there were free-standing display units (FSDUs) across the store and the promotion uses a “promotional code” otherwise known as a unique reference number (URN) promotional mechanic to validate entries into the promotion. The form to enter is found on a webpage on Relentless Energy’s website, at the URL, relentlessenergy.com/jbl_gb which is the URL printed on all promotional materials. With so many competitors in the energy drinks market, Relentless focuses on the music and nightlife scene as their target audience with this promotion.
Previously a Tesco exclusive on-pack promotion in the earlier half of this year, in late February 2024, the Cluedo x Premier Foods promotion moves to another version of this promotion just after the closing date in May, with the new version promotion, available in more retail locations, beginning in late June. This promotion throws shoppers into the classic board game by Hasbro, featuring a microsite with its very own Cluedo-style designs and inviting participants to engage in the simple gamification that immerses shoppers into the ‘mystery of the stolen recipe.’ The promotion is found at the promotional microsite, whostoletherecipe.co.uk which is the URL printed on-pack.
Seeing as the previous version of the promotion (starting in February) has not concluded its wrap-up draws which are due to close in November of 2024, the two promotions are running simultaneously on the microsite which although confusing, is not a major issue as there’s no purchase required to enter either version of the promotion. If shoppers scan the QR code of the on-pack promotion, they’ll immediately be taken to their respective page instead of the landing page from the URL.
For a promotion that collates so many brands, unifying the on-pack promotions under one microsite makes gathering and analysing shopper data much easier and requires less upkeep than separating each on-pack promotion across all brand websites. Having a microsite eliminates several potential technical issues with adding a webpage to a brand’s main website where there may also be transactions happening - it may also cause a consistency issue with branding which can be avoided and made simpler with a microsite.
To revitalise Weetabix’s brand image, the brand has been targeting a football fan base for some time now. In the summer of 2023, Weetabix partnered with England’s Women's team and took over Wembley’s Boxpark with their own ‘Weetabox Park’, creating a wholesome and experiential promotional campaign for audiences.
Weetabix has consistently run football partnerships and brand promotions to capture the attention of England’s football fans. In 2024, we’re seeing another football-based brand promotion from Weetabix in the form of an on-pack promotion. Following the on-pack short terms and conditions will lead shoppers to the microsite winwithweetabix.co.uk, their always-on promotional website.
Working with the ParalympicsGB team, several cereal brands like Shreddies and Cheerios are the ’hero’ brands for the on-pack promotion - with the Olympics season here already and the Paralympics not so long away, this on-pack promotion is a great way to engage with shoppers who may be interested in the Paralympics in Paris. The cereal boxes feature a simple promotional flash and the front of the box and also include a larger promotional design on the back of the box, featuring the key promotional terms.
The on-pack promotion uses a unique reference code - a URN, which can be submitted onto the promotional webpage, nestle-cereals.com/uk/paralympicsgb which contains plenty of content regarding the titular Paralympics experience.
Nestle taps into the fanbase with this promotion, in the promotion, entrants can even send a message of support to the athletes. By partnering directly with Paralympics GB’s athletes and sharing their stories, Nestle reaps the benefits of having an athlete’s fanbase, overall improving sales and footfall to their brand and in turn, for retailers who stock Nestle cereal brands with the promotional packs. Working akin to an influencer, athletes have strongly dedicated fanbases and it means that as a brand, Nestle can leverage this attention for longer-term benefits to their brands, it’s also an opportunity to create some exclusive content that is only available to the promotional material, making the promotion even more desirable.
Found on the promotional microsite, eukcomp.co.uk as seen on the Jim Beam promotional bottle necktags, this on-pack promotion feature uses receipt validation to verify entries.
The promotional neck tag remains pretty simple in design which makes the promotion more clear to shoppers - with the bottle locked up with security tags, it could be difficult to spot these promotional bottles so as a brand, this is a consideration to make when considering the creation of an on-pack promotion - especially for alcoholic beverages that are usually fitted with security precautions, making the actual on-pack promotion stand out is an important consideration if your brand is looking to increase the number of new buyers, having that additional competitive advantage in the need set that your brand fulfils improves the chances of a successful sale or new customer so making the on-pack addition clear as well and engaging is crucial within a highly competitive market like FMCG.
The on-pack promotion is supported by retailers’ digital channels, featuring the promotional details online when shoppers view the product. Currently, only Sainsbury’s and Co-op do not feature any promotional details for this prize draw on their websites.
Spanish wine brand, Sangre de Toro, an official partner of the Spanish National Football Team, Sangre de Toro brings shoppers the chance to win a trip to Spain or some football merchandise with their new on-pack promotion.
The on-pack promotion is minimal in copy, conveying a lot of information quite simply with some copy and graphics. However, quite critically, the promotion lacks some vital information on the packaging which may lead to scrutiny from the ASA for breaking CAP codes. The promotion does not list the promoter’s address, and the number of prizes available, and does not list the restrictions to entry such as geographical or age. Suppose a lack of space or time is the cause for the omission of significant conditions, the promotional material on-pack should then direct shoppers and consumers to an easily accessible source. This source should include all significant terms and conditions which must be easily obtainable and accessible to participants - which, this promotion does not include. Whilst there is a QR code leading directly to the promotional webpages, there is no alternative URL if the QR code does not work, and fails to mention where the full terms and conditions could be found on-pack.
The digital for this promotion is well-made with simple animations and an intuitive design. The promotional webpage also reveals that Sangre de Toro has held promotions in German and Spanish markets. Overall the design and execution of the promotion from a consumer standpoint, curates a user-focused experience.
This on-pack promotion ended in late June but was spotted on shelves by the PromoNow Insights team in late July. As a partner of Record Store Day UK, this prize draw featured Studio by Miraval speakers and over 300 runner-up prizes featuring merchandise from Studio by Miraval.
Studio by Miraval and Record Store Day UK have also run another promotion together, with Record Store Day UK leading the promotion, featuring a specially packaged version of the wine. The brand has been heavily involved in targeting an audience of music lovers so this partnership and promotion is on-track with this line of targeting. Studio by Miraval has even seen a refresh of their brand label, only during late 2023, did they add on the circle behind the brand name, reminiscent of a vinyl record.
With 4-holiday options, Henry Westons injects its brand with an exciting on-pack promotion utilising URNs for validations. The URN is printed on the underside of the bottle cap of promotional bottles of Henry Westons’ ciders. To date, this is Henry Westons Cider’s biggest on-pack promotion with 14 million bottles and 4.9 million multipacks in the promotion, the on-pack promotion is also supported with out-of-home (OOH) digital screens.
Our Henry Westons range continues to lead the charge across the off-trade and the launch of our biggest on-pack promotion to date presents another chance for retailers to further their cider sales this summer. There’s already more than one bottle of Henry Westons Vintage sold every second, so with Bank Holidays, the Euros and, hopefully, a summer of sunny days ahead, the competition is perfectly timed to drive this further and help retailers across all channels cash in.
Holly Chadwick, Henry Westons Brand Manager at Westons Cider
Although not an on-pack promotion, this prize draw saw support in the form of free-standing display units and overhead displays in Asda stores. Found exclusively in Asda, the retailer was “responsible for placing the Promotion Material in stores.”
Shoppers could scan the QR code or visit the URL on the promotional packaging to enter. The flaw in this promotion is the inflexibility against an on-pack promotion, shoppers are more likely to forget or pass by the promotion before entering. Whilst utilising QR codes in-store could potentially improve in-store and immediate sign-ups to the promotions, many shoppers will likely not be entering promotions in-store. The benefit of on-pack promotions is not only the portability but also the product sales - it's an extra incentive to encourage shoppers to buy and try a product they otherwise might not think to try.
This promotion can be found in many stores. In Asda, there’s an accompanying floor decal and small promotional cards featuring the promotional design on the front and instructions for entry into the promotion on the back.
.png)
For free-to-enter promotions, these cards are a good way for shoppers to remember the promotion even when they leave the store, working similarly to an on-pack promotion. Without involving the product - this option doesn’t push shoppers to buy the product for a free-to-enter promotion. However, for this particular promotion, shoppers have to buy a promotional product to enter the instant win prize draw.
Cadbury’s hot chocolate line - as seen below, has a display embedded into the shelving - While this breaks up the monotony for the shelves, there’s a lighting issue, the main stand-out ‘hero’ display becomes a bit obscured by both the dim lighting as well as the products itself and is harder to notice when in the perspective of a shopper who’s passing by. To further call attention to this area, promotional displays like a shelf stopper or adding a floor decal would further highlight this section of the aisle to shoppers.
The team will continue to keep track of brand promotions in various categories, updating readers on the biggest promotional news.
To be informed on the latest promotional news and industry insights, click the follow button below and follow us on LinkedIn, we'll keep you updated.
If you're interested in running your own promotions, visit promo-now.com/contact to learn how PromoNow can help you create engaging brand activations, or contact one of our PromoNow Experts on +44 (0) 20 380 555 38.
PromoNow is a managed end-to-end cloud platform empowering brand owners with rapid, scalable and secure solutions for any promotional activation.
