BACKGROUND: Bloom Grocery Stores, a new and different supermarket concept from Food Lion LLC, has successfully built its culture around providing its customers with unique and novel shopping experiences. This different kind of grocery store has singing butchers, umbrella-toting baggers and even gigantic replicas of its signature bakery product—the Bloomberry muffin.
CHALLENGE: One of the Bloom marketing tactics is the use of a traveling six-foot Bloomberry muffin, used to generate excitement at store promotions. During a “visit” to the Upstate of South Carolina, the Bloomberry muffin was stolen. Jackson Marketing Group’s challenge as Bloom’s PR agency: report the theft to the authorities and deal with any media inquiries.
SOLUTION: Recognizing this situation as a rare PR opportunity we could leverage, JMG immediately proposed a proactive search for the missing muffin, inviting media to cover the story and help find the muffin. JMG quickly drafted a press release regarding the missing muffin, distributed photos, contacted the media and arranged interviews with Bloom representatives at its corporate office, as well as at the store. Once the muffin’s remains were discovered, JMG released a second announcement with a photo announcing the sad demise and thanking to the community for helping. JMG also thanked the media representatives who covered the story with a box of real Bloomberry muffins and themed thank-you note.
RESULTS: The muffin theft garnered great local coverage on television, radio and in print. The story also received national coverage on CourtTV. In all, over one million consumer impressions were created with a budget of less than $5,000.