Niemann’s County Market Named Supervalu’s Master Marketer
Supervalu hosted its second national expo in St. Paul, Minn., with more than 170,000 square feet devoted to showcasing the company’s own private label products as well as the vast array of items from vendors and suppliers. More than 4,500 retailers attended the three-day event.
The expo floor highlighted the fresh departments -- following consumer trends that are demanding more fresh products -- and also showcased the many services it offers its retailers, like Supervalu University that features both online and in-person training sessions, as well as succession planning.Other highlights included professional development services that retailers can use when scouting new store locations, looking to remodel or remerchandise stores.
A large section of the expo floor was devoted to Supervalu’s consumer marketing services that include programs that enable retailers to connect with their customers digitally and how to translate data into actionable marketing.
The expo also hosted the 2015 Master Marketer Awards, the Academy Awards of marketing for Supervalu’s independent retailers with nearly 475 nominations this year. This year’s Grand Master Marketer is Neimann Foods’ County Market based in Quincy, Ill. In addition to being named the best of the best in marketing, County Market was also awarded a $25,000 grant from Supervalu to donate to a local charity of its choice.
Other marketing awards were given out in several categories, divided into two tiers based on store size. All submissions were judged by marketing students from the University of St. Thomas, University of Minnesota, Virginia Commonwealth University and St. Joseph’s University, for creativity, clarity and effectiveness. The nominations were winnowed down to six finalists for each tier in each of the 10 categories, and a master marketer for each tier also was named.
The winners were:
Master Marketer
Tier 1: Graceway IGA, Turks & Caicos
Tier 2: McCaffrey’s, Princeton, N.J.
Website/Social Media
Tier 1: County Market, Pittsfield, Ill.
Tier 2: Shop ‘n Save, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Grand Opening/Anniversary
Tier 1: Graceway IGA, Turks & Caicos
Tier 2: Gordy’s Market, Chippewa Falls, Wis.
Public Service/Community
Tier 1: Murphy’s at the Lake, Medford, N.J.
Tier 2: Sentry Foods, Waukesha, Wis.
Fresh Departments
Tier 1: Schiff’s, Scranton, Pa.
Tier 2: County Market, Decatur, Ill.
Center Store Developments
Tier 1: Western Markets, Rocky Ridge, Ala.
Tier 2: Remke Markets, Crescent Springs, Ken.
Extra Effort Advertising
Tier 1: County Market, Quincy, Ill.
Tier 2: McCaffrey’s, Princeton, N.J.
Private Brands
Tier 1: Gordy’s Market, Augusta, Wis.
Tier 2: Shop ‘n Save, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Industry Promotions
Tier 1: Krause’s Market, Garrison, N.D.
Tier 2: Metcalfe’s Hilldale Sentry, Madison, Wis.
Radio Spots
Tier 1: Island Foods Great Valu, Chincoteague, Va.
Tier 2: Gordy’s Market, Eau Claire, Wis.
TV Commercials
Tier 1: Corner Market, Hattiesburg, Miss.
Tier 2: Kowalski’s Markets, Woodbury, Minn.
People’s Choice: Trig’s, Rhinelander, Wis.