Big Brand Partnerships
As the summer’s football fever settles and the World Cup becomes a distant memory, we are seeing a noticeable shift in-store. Brands are pivoting back to highly desirable, experience-led prizes, shifting their focus to live music VIP passes and holiday getaways.
This edition of Bites breaks down these standout campaigns alongside massive IP partnerships, like Kellogg’s and Pokémon, as well as some excellent examples of in-store Point-of-Sale.
If you have any questions about these examples, please let us know!
Catching Up For Charity
“This promotion worked well by combining relatable prizes with a strong purpose-led message. The ‘bestie catch up’ theme made the rewards feel relevant and achievable, while the 10p Comic Relief donation gave consumers an added reason to enter and created a positive brand association. The Co-op exclusivity also added a sense of value and differentiation.” – GC View
In this Co-op exclusive, Maltesers offers shoppers the chance to win vouchers for a ‘bestie catch up’, ranging from escapes and adventures to coffee dates. Additionally, every entry triggers a 10p donation to Comic Relief. This is a solid example of combining relatable occasion based prizes with purpose-led marketing.
Scoring Experiences
“Who doesn’t want to spend more time with their nearest and dearest? This is a fantastic example of a brand leveraging its official England men’s team partnership to tap into the football fever gripping the nation this summer. By rewarding shoppers with tangible, highly evocative prizes across music, holidays, and sports, the campaign goes beyond standard merchandise to offer the ultimate gift: memorable, shared experiences.” – GC View
Much like Maltesers, this World Cup campaign leant heavily into occasion-based rewards. Shoppers can win shared experiential prizes like Ticketmaster, Airbnb, and Deliveroo vouchers, or 5-a-side football sessions. It is another great example of Mars Wrigley brands helping to facilitate shared consumer experiences.
Total Retail Takeover
“Budweiser shows what a true superbrand can achieve, turning a major FIFA sponsorship into a bold, playful and memorable retail experience. It owns the entire journey – from tournament visibility to the shop floor and ultimately the moment fans enjoy the game at home – driving sales while building powerful, lasting brand loyalty.” – GC View
Budweiser dominated in-store with total retail takeovers, using entrance arches, window decals, and trolley bays. High visibility paired with on-pack ticket promos drove impressive commercial results, lifting sales by £8.1m (+18%) and adding 5.8m litres in volume over the tournament. A masterclass in high-impact execution.
A Peachy Bonus
“An absolute stand-out on the shelf! This is a remarkably clever execution. Pairing spirits with a lip gloss is a completely unexpected cross-category move, props to the design team. The engineering of the neck tag is out-of-the-box and creates a fantastic incentive at point-of-sale. Above all, it highlights a team that truly understands their target audience, delivering a fun, tangible reward that speaks directly to their wants and needs.” – GC View
Archers brings its iconic peach flavour to life with an innovative on-pack GWP. The execution features a free peach lip gloss held in a clever, plastic-free cardboard neck tag structure. It is a strong example of cross-category relevance, connecting the brand’s core taste profile with a fun, tangible beauty reward.
Colourful Summer Gifts
“By introducing an innovative and timely GWP for the summer season, Malibu positions itself as the ideal choice for any summer occasion. Interestingly, the campaign trades product facings for ad coverage by leveraging shelf-blockers on a quarter pallet – a calculated trade-off that successfully disrupts the shopper journey and maximises visibility of the FSDU. I don’t drink Malibu… but I want the free cup!” – GC View
Malibu drives summer engagement with a high-value GWP, offering a free colour-changing cup with 1L bottles. The interactive gift brings signature serves to life as the cup shifts colour when chilled with a drink. Backed by eye-catching FSDUs, it delivers a strong incentive for shoppers to trade up.
Strolling For A Cider
“It’s great to see an alcohol brand running a fun promo that’s encouraging activity, socialising and increasing footfall in pubs around the UK. It’s great to see people getting more active and social, while also giving pubs a much-needed boost. It’s simple, and it works.” – GC View
Thatchers partners with OS Maps to launch ‘PintSized Walks’, a series of UK walking routes ending at partner pubs. By showing a completed route on the app, participants claim a free pint. This experiential promo effectively drives on-trade footfall while seamlessly aligning the cider brand with outdoor, social occasions.
Brands Offer Even More Holiday Escapes
Seville A-Peel
Cruzcampo launches its new Seville Orange flavour by offering a trip to Seville. This Morrisons promo brings the brand’s origins to life, connecting shoppers to the home of the oranges.
Despicable Getaway
Jammie Dodgers partners with Minions for a standout on-pack promo. Offering a trip to Florida and thousands of Dobble games, the brand leverages the popular franchise to maximise family appeal.
Cheesy Escape
Cheese is a category rarely associated with major promos, but Mexicana changes this by offering a trip to Mexico. The on-pack promotion aligns with the product’s spicy origins while driving strong shelf appeal.
Sparkling Retreat
Freixenet offers shoppers the chance to win a trip to Mallorca. This striking neck tag promotion aligns perfectly with summer occasions while bringing the brand’s Mediterranean Riviera origins to life.
Big Brand Partnerships
Trust The Gin
Bombay Sapphire and the National Trust have partnered for a cross-channel promotion spanning on and off-trade environments. The approach drives visibility and aligns the premium gin with an iconic UK brand.
Cans That Care
Jimmy’s Iced Coffee partners with Marie Curie on a limited-edition charity pack. Donating 5p from every can to the cause, this campaign effectively ensures that “every pack gives back”.
Gotta Catch Cereall
Kellogg’s partners with Pokémon on a special edition cereal. With four unique character packs to discover, this collectable packaging strategy drives strong shelf appeal and repeat purchases.
Wine Meets Grill
Trivento and Weber partner to target summer BBQ occasions. A fun pallet wrap featuring a glowing grill brings the partnership to life in-store, associating the wine with outdoor dining.
The Arts Take Centre Stage In Store
Rum To The Beat
Bacardi taps into music occasions with a vibrant summer promo. Offering a chance to win one of hundreds of Sony speakers, this display seamlessly aligns the rum brand with outdoor parties.
Mainstage Sipping
Lipton targets music lovers with a ‘Sip Scan Win’ promo. Offering VIP festival experiences and tickets to Reading and Leeds, the brand drives engagement during the key summer period.
Max Out The Music
Pepsi Max taps into the live music scene with its Stage Pass promo. In a major team-up, the brand offers fans a chance to win a year of live music, successfully positioning the product at the heart of entertainment.
Tickets Take The Biscuit
Jaffa Cakes offers shoppers the chance to win ‘can’t miss tickets’ via an engaging on-pack promo. By spanning a wide range of prizes across music, sport, and comedy, the campaign ensures broad consumer appeal.
Cider and Stand Up
Bypassing crowded music tie-ins taken by other brands, Magners carves its own path by aligning with comedy. Offering an Irish VIP comedy getaway, this on-pack promo differentiates the brand while honouring its heritage.
Big Sports Hits Shelves
Kick Off In Germany
Jägermeister taps into the ongoing football fever, offering the ultimate fan trip to Germany via a neck tag. This sports-driven promo leverages the brand’s German roots to capture shopper attention.
Pop Tarts Touchdown
Pop-Tarts leverages its iconic American identity with a major NFL tie-in. Offering a trip to Super Bowl LXI plus exclusive merchandise, the sports promo uses a headline prize package to drive sales.
A Crisp Century
Tyrrells partners with The Hundred, offering a single £20K jackpot. Competing directly with Kettle, this high-stakes cash prize aims to capture the attention of cricket fans.
Bowling For Rivals
Rivalling Tyrrells on the same shelf, Kettle aligns with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup. Instead of one large jackpot, they offer a daily £200 cash prize to drive consistent shopper engagement.
Innovative POS In Store
Popping Off Shelf
Berocca captures attention with a striking 3D product hotspot. The display delivers clear range education, highlighting what each product is suitable for to easily guide shoppers to their ideal daily support.
Meet Your Matcha
Perfect Ted introduces new ways to drink matcha via a collaborative gondola end. Partnering with complementary brands, the display features recipes for various serves to inspire shopper trial.
Monster Sized Displays
Monster commands attention with a striking FSDU. While the unit sacrifices product capacity in favour of heavy, oversized branding panels, the bold design ensures the display remains highly impactful in-store.
Can You Spritz?
Aperol employed can-shaped pallet displays to support its new RTDs in-store. Flanking the core bottles, these oversized structures guarantee maximum visibility and successfully drive on-the-go appeal.
Food for Thought…
Arrival of AI Trolleys
Morrisons is trialling AI smart trolleys linked to its loyalty scheme. These interactive carts boost shopper engagement, driving a 32% increase in overall spend and extending in-store dwell time by 23%.
University of London
TikTok Nutrition
Gen Z shoppers are increasingly turning to social media for dietary guidance, with 19% now using TikTok as their primary source of nutritional information.
Danone
Rise of Own-Label
Shoppers are not just trading down for value. Half of consumers say price isn’t their primary driver for buying private label, as perceptions shift to view retailer brands as equal in quality.
Grocery Gazette
World Cup Basket Boost
UK supermarket sales saw a 4.4% rise as the World Cup drove increased grocery spending. With fans stocking up for matches, retailers leant into prime opportunities to leverage the occasion.
Retail Sector
