This year’s event featured offerings such as Frozen Powerade Mountain Berry Blast and other frozen drink options, while “TracFanatics” were enticed by free refills and coupons.
By Erin Rigik Del Conte, Senior Editor
Summertime means Sodapalooza at Atlanta-based RaceTrac Petroleum Inc., which has been running consecutive Sodapalooza promotions since 2014, according to Marianne Simpson, promotions manager for RaceTrac. The annual event encourages fans to purchase a cup filled with coupons and enjoy free refills during the promotion period.
This summer Sodapalooza kicked off May 3, running through July 31. Simpson explained the highlights of this year’s Sodapalooza, from what was new in 2017 to how the promotion has become synonymous with the RaceTrac brand.
Convenience Store Decisions (CSD): Tell us a bit about what the Sodapalooza campaign entailed this year. How was it different from previous years?
Marianne Simpson (MS): Sodapalooza is an exciting time for RaceTrac and our guests. For three months, guests can purchase a Sodapalooza cup and refill it with our variety of fountain and tea options. Each cup comes filled with coupons that are valid for in-store offers or partner offers specific to each market.
A new flavor for guests this summer was Frozen Powerade Mountain Berry Blast. The (20-ounce) cup retailed for $11.99 (the same price as 2016), and just like in 2016, loyalty members, i.e. guests with the RaceTrac app, could receive $2 off of the cup through a coupon in the rewards app.
CSD: What kinds of coupons do you offer in the cups?
MS: We like to provide our guests with fun ways to keep their summer exciting in addition to the Sodapalooza promotion. We fill each Sodapalooza cup with coupons for food promotions or activities around the area, valued between $30-$150, depending on the market. The coupons range anywhere from free Jack Link’s Beef Jerky to buy-one-get-one breakfast sandwiches to a free bag of ice with the purchase of a Coca-Cola 12-pack. They also include offers relating to discounted Atlanta Braves Tickets, as well as deals to Sea World and the Dallas Zoo.
CSD: Describe your new flavor Frozen Powerade Mountain Berry Blast.
MS: Powerade Mountain Berry Blast has always been a big hit with our fountain guests, so this year we were excited to offer a frozen option as well. The product really resonated and offered a true isotonic frozen option, and we saw a big lift in frozen movement after introducing the new offer.
CSD: Is there anything you’ve learned from past years doing this promotion that aided you in improving it this year? If so, what?
MS: Annual promotions like Sodapalooza allow us to take some time in between to reassess and determine if we would like to update the promotion in the future. Over the years, we have developed meaningful partnerships that enable us to offer guests enticing coupons to places like Sea World or Atlanta Braves baseball games.
The partnerships we have allow us to offer guests exclusive deals through the coupons in the Sodapalooza cup. Our guests especially enjoy the FreeFill aspect of Sodapalooza, but we’ve heard great feedback surrounding the partner coupons and how they give our guests great ideas for fun activities during the summer months when school is out.
CSD: From a retailer perspective, how does Sodapalooza benefit RaceTrac?
MS: Sodapalooza is an opportunity to drive in-store traffic and engagement with our most loyal guests. It also serves as a brand-building platform, creating content for our social channels advertising creative and media relations.
CSD: In 2016, RaceTrac rewarded fans who participated in the #SodapaloozaSelfie contest on social media. Did you create any social promotions around Sodapalooza 2017?
MS: This year, we launched Sodapalooza with compelling imagery to get our TracFanatics excited about the promotion. Our social content supported the ‘Summer in the South’ video series where a filmmaker goes on a road trip to make a documentary about summer in the South. With the help of his RaceTrac guide, and a few Sodapalooza cups, he learns how to beat the heat and survive. The content introduced us to a cast of characters including Louise, who knows a thing or two about Southern hospitality.
CSD: Does RaceTrac’s ‘Summer in the South’ promotion dovetail off of Sodapalooza?
MS: While Sodapalooza is our most popular promotion of the year, we wanted to use this momentum to have our ‘Summer in the South’ campaign be about more than Sodapalooza. Anyone who lives in the South knows that we have great weather all year long. Our goal was to capitalize on the benefits of a summer of free refills while encouraging guests to check out our Swirl World (frozen yogurt) selection, along with our Nathan’s all-beef hot dogs.
CSD: What does RaceTrac do to keep customers returning all year long for frozen dispensed drinks?
MS: We like to switch things up to keep guests interested and coming back. In the past, we’ve invited Sodapalooza cup owners to come back in the fall…For example, in October 2016, we invited our guests to bring in their Sodapalooza cups and receive free refills for a week. We are always looking to reward our most loyal TracFanatics, and they certainly took advantage of this bonus FreeFill offer.