Food for thought

NEWSPAPER promotions which involve cash discount offers with the big retail food chains are much in vogue and proving to be a hit with both parties.

For example, a very successful current partnership between the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, with Lidl, has been followed by the launch of a similar promotion involving the Scottish Daily Mail and Tesco and The Scottish Sun with Morrisons.

The Daily Record and Sunday Mail teamed up with Lidl for a campaign to give readers £5 off their shopping when they spend £30 which has been so successful that it has been given a longer run.

The campaign has a World Cup theme highlighting party food and drinks, but also focuses on Scottish produce such as Scottish burgers for the barbecue season, plus reinforcing Lidl’s ‘value for money’ message.

Daily Record and Sunday Mail marketing manager, Jackie McGuigan, told allmediascotland: “People are always looking to make savings on their shopping and this offer is proving to be a great success with our readers and for Lidl. So much so, we’ve extended the promotion.”

Advertising by the big food outlets seems to be growing. In the Daily Record last Friday alone, there were display ads for a number of stores including Aldi, ASDA, Costcutter, Lidl, M&S, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and the National Independent Supermarkets Association’s local Foodstore outlets.

Meantime, the Daily Record has underlined its commitment to corporate social responsibility by announcing it will continue to run two major Scottish awards.

This year the 12-category Scottish Green Awards, (launched for the first time last year by Scottish Business Insider magazine, in association with title sponsor ScottishPower), will be held on Thursday, September 30 at Glasgow Science Centre. The awards are sponsored by ScottishPower and SEPA.

The Daily Record said: “We launch our search for Scotland’s most environmentally friendly people, projects and companies. This high-profile annual focus promotes Scotland as a country that encourages sustainability, tackles climate change and is committed to improving energy efficiency.”

The 16-category Scottish Health Awards 2010 ask readers to celebrate the achievements of the NHS, and carry £30,000 worth of prize money. The closing date for nominations is September 6. The awards are run by the Record in association with NHS Scotland, the Scottish government’s Healthier Scotland Initiative, Pfizer and Unison Scotland.