Wakefern/ShopRite Takes Top Honors in NGA Creative Choice Awards

Wakefern Food Corp.'s ShopRite stores took top honors with two Best of Show winning entries in the marketing and merchandising categories for the National Grocers Association's (NGA) Creative Choice awards.

For its Best of Show marketing award, Wakefern/ShopRite claimed victory for its “Tutto Italiano Imported Italian Private Label Promotion” entry. Working in conjunction with the Italian Trade Association (ITA) to educate existing and new consumers of the various imported Italian products available at stores, ShopRite executed a promotional sale with a theme focusing on its private label items.

For its Best of Show merchandising award, Wakefern/ShopRite claimed another top prize for its “Grand Brands of the Grand Tasting – NYC Wine and Food Festival” entry. In this promotional event, ShopRite worked as a presenting sponsor of the premier event at the NYC Wine and Food Festival. Over the course of three days, ShopRite showcased its brand as the official sponsor of the event’s grand tasting, where celebrity chef demos and book signings took place.

More than 300 entries were judged based on the criteria of creativity, clarity and effectiveness by a panel of industry experts. Creative Choice Award winners for each category were selected as "Best of Show" nominees. "Best of Show" winners were determined by both the judges and through online voting, which incorporated nearly 1,200 votes.

The annual Creative Choice Awards contest, sponsored by Kellogg's and Unilever, honors the best marketing and merchandising programs in the independent supermarket industry. Marketing campaigns and merchandising events or promotions held between Dec. 1, 2014 and Dec. 1, 2015 were eligible for this year's contest.

A full list of NGA's 2016 Creative Choice Awards winners can be found here.

In addition to this year's "Best of Show" awards, Kellogg's and Unilever each chose entries to recognize.

Kellogg's selected “Poptarts” submitted by Harps Food Stores while Unilever selected "Right on girls! Dove coupons” submitted by ShopRite/Wakefern.