strategy

General Mills Goes Grassroots For Sweepstakes

  • by October 8, 2008

Karla MartinezAs part of its recently announced year-long partnership with Univision Network, General Mills' Hispanic marketing platform for moms, "Que Rica Vida," and its Bisquick brand will use community organizing as a key promotional tool for a Mother's Day-themed sweepstakes.

Five winners will receive a trip for two to Miami for brunch/sobremesa with Karla Martinez, "Que Rica Vida" spokesperson and co-host of Univision's morning show, "Despierta América." The sponsors plan four grassroots drives for sweepstakes entry in community centers throughout the Los Angeles, Northern California, Houston and Chicago markets.

"The idea is to give as many people as possible a chance to enter by taking the sweepstakes beyond the typical channels, and directly into the community," says Ursula Mejia-Melgar, editor of Que Rica Vida magazine--noting that not everyone is computer-literate or has a computer at home. Computer-literate consumers, meanwhile, can enter the sweepstakes at www.QueRicaVida.com.

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A sobremesa refers to the Hispanic tradition of sharing stories with family and friends around the table after a meal, and Mejia-Melgar added that the sweepstakes winners will be able to share "mothering tips and experiences with Martinez, who only last week gave birth to her second daughter, Michaella."

Bisquick is one of 15 brands participating in the "Que Rica Vida"-Univision partnership. All the brands will be featured in a series of 30-second vignettes, with Martinez offering cooking and nutrition-related tips, which will air over the coming year.

Que Rica Vida, a free, quarterly Spanish-language women's lifestyle magazine (circulation approximately 350,000) and its Web site (www.QueRicaVida.com) are the cornerstones of General Mills's two-and-a-half-year-old, multi-brand Hispanic marketing initiative of the same name.

The publication is available for home delivery and in stores and community venues in Hispanic communities. Starting next year, a condensed version will also be distributed to more than 600,000 households as an FSI in newspapers around the country.

Editor's note: Watch for Engage:Hispanics, a weekly newsletter on the Hispanic demographic, which comes out today.

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