CPM brings Yorkshire Tea team to Asda

As part of its sponsorship of England Cricket, Yorkshire Tea has been engaging with over 15,000 Asda customers – in a roadshow visiting those stores closest to the host grounds for the 2013 Test Match Series. The activity culminates on 21 and 22 August to coincide with the 5th Test at the Kia Oval.

This is Yorkshire Tea’s first ever sponsorship programme: for the next three years the brand will be the official brew of the England Cricket Team, and the sponsorship is being leveraged to raise sales within Asda stores during the summer of 2013.

James Prentice, shopper marketing manager, Yorkshire Tea said: “Asda represents a key sales channel for us, and as well as engaging with our prime target market, the roadshow gives us an opportunity to record comments from store managers, Asda staff and of course the customers themselves.”

Sales development agency CPM was asked to create a campaign identifying those Asda stores located closest to the test match venues: Lords, Headingly, Leeds, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Old Trafford and Durham and The Oval. The agency then designed an activity zone outside of the stores.

CPM creative services manager Lee Marriott said: “A key consideration was to ensure that the activation found the right balance to promote Yorkshire Tea’s sponsorship of England Cricket while appealing to Asda’s core shoppers – who tend to be Mums and families.”

The agency created an inflatable cricket arena, which has been set up outside of the stores on each of the activity days. The 8 x 6m space has been split into two areas: a sampling and relaxation zone where mums can sit and enjoy a well-made cup of Yorkshire Tea, and a bowling cage, providing the opportunity for any and all family members to measure the speed of their bowling action.

Added Marriott: “Throughout the activation days we’ve been running a number of competitions to create buzz around the stand. These are supported by in-store announcements. Each day we’ve used a competition mechanic to give away four pairs of tickets to the next day’s Test Match. Not surprisingly this has been a huge incentive, and the competitions have increased footfall to the activity by 50% in the hours that the ticket giveaway was taking place.”

Event days have also be supported by ex-cricketers Dominic Cork and Gladstone Small who have visited the stand to drive further engagement and PR coverage. The activity is being amplified on the Yorkshire Tea FaceBook and Twitter accounts as well as Asda’s own ‘Store Locator’ pages. As a measurement mechanic, CPM has conducted qualitative research on all activity days – collecting comments from store managers, Asda staff and customers.

Marriott said: “The campaign has been hugely successful. To date we have engaged with over 15,000 Asda shoppers, who have been drawn to the activity and genuinely wanted to participate. All our data and comments from shoppers support this. Over 10,000 cups of tea have been made and we have registered a 50% sales uplift of Yorkshire Tea across the stores visited to date.

The roadshow finishes with the 5th Test at the Kia Oval on 21st and 22nd August, when Yorkshire Tea will be visiting Asda stores at the Old Kent Road and Roehampton.