• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, January 24, 2020

Heinz is really doing it up with promotions to support its Super Bowl investment this year.

In addition to a spot in the game created by Wieden + Kennedy, its doing a narrowly targeted sweepstakes (orchestrated by HelloWorld), to help console fans whose teams didn’t make it the big stage. They can enter a competition for a flight refund.

The company has also confirmed it’s doing a much broader sweepstakes (from Blue Chip, Equator Design and Merkle) that ketchup lovers across the country can participate in to win thousands of prizes, like a catered “grill-out party.” It’s called the “Heinz Bottle Matchup.”

I don’t think my building in NYC would permit the grill-out party (fire regulations etc.), but like I said, it’s a national effort. So good luck to all the BBQ-grilling-inclined suburbanites out there.

It definitely doesn't hurt to give people one more reason to stay tuned when you've shelled out millions to run a spot in the game.

The in-store promo runs through Feb. 3. For every specially marked bottle number a fan picks up that matches a number in the final score of the big game, they can visit this special site for a chance to win a prize. 

Blue Chip tested the concept with hundreds of ketchup-loving football fans and found more than 80% were motivated to participate. Blue Chip worked with Equator Design to redesign the label and Merkle’s Promotion & Loyalty Solutions Group to design and run the sweepstakes.

“We needed something to stand out in stores among all of the promotions this time of the year,” said Jason Geis, vice president-group creative director at Blue Chip. “For most people, the football playoffs are about eating and rooting for their favorite team. We created our own game within that spirit. And we're giving people another reason to pay attention to the game."