Tops Friendly Markets soon will launch its Tops Tailgate Club, a six-week football campaign featuring savings, recipes, digital rewards, weekly prize giveaways and an expanded partnership with Buffalo apparel brand By Abigail Lee.
The campaign runs Sunday, Sept. 6-Saturday, Oct. 17, with the grocer merchandising game-day essentials in the Tops Tailgate Club in-store.
“Football season is all about bringing people together, and Tops Tailgate Club gives shoppers everything they need to make game day a winning celebration,” said Ron Ferri, president of Tops Friendly Markets. “From savings on fan-favorite products and new recipes to fun digital games, exclusive gear and exciting prizes, there is something for everyone.”
Partnership expands beyond apparel
The campaign marks the second year of the BAL x Tops collaboration. In a social media post announcing the launch, the By Abigail Lee brand said it is moving beyond clothing into nearly 100 Tops locations with more than 15 new food items, along with chip bowls, wing platters and other tailgate essentials rolling out in the coming weeks, all featuring the brand’s Buffalo Royalty print. A new line of Tailgate Club apparel accompanies the food launch.
“We all know this year feels different. There is so much change happening, and it really made us think about what game day actually means to all of us,” the brand said in the announcement. “It’s the traditions we’ve created, the food we make, what we wear, the people we watch with, the parking lots we’ve made memories in and the living rooms we’ve cheered from. That’s what we want this club to celebrate.”
The brand also announced an official tailgate launch party set for Saturday, Sept. 12, with details to come.
GOAT Giveaway, Kick to Win
Tops shoppers who purchase participating brands, including Gatorade, King’s Hawaiian, BodyArmor, Tostitos and Pepsi, will be entered for a chance to win a weekly GOAT — Greatest of All Tailgates — prize package. One winner will be selected each week during the campaign. Each package, valued at $1,477, includes a $500 Tops gift card, an RTIC 52-quart cooler, a Weber Traveler portable gas grill and an Ooni Koda 12 pizza oven.
Shoppers also can play the in-app Kick to Win game at kick.topsmarkets.com, clicking to attempt a field goal for possible instant win prizes. Additional kicks can be earned weekly by purchasing participating brands, including Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, Ritz, Margherita and Bounty. Digital prizes include exclusive tailgate gear, ecoupon offers and entry into a giveaway for a pair of Buffalo Bills tickets to the Jan. 10 Jets-Bills game, valued at approximately $495.
The promotion arrives as Tops continues layering gamified marketing onto its loyalty program, following its MoolahVille cash-back rewards campaign that ran this spring.
Headquartered in Williamsville, New York, Tops Markets operates 152 grocery stores across New York, Pennsylvania and Vermont, including one franchise location, and employs more than 14,000 associates.