A.F. Blakemore & Son taps AR tech and QR codes as it preps SPAR Merry Textmas competition

A.F. Blakemore & Son is set to launch a SPAR Christmas campaign giving away up to £100,000 worth of prizes.

Merry Textmas is a 25-day text to win competition that will be live in more than 300 Blakemore Retail and independent stores across SPAR’s Meridian & Welsh Guild from 8th December to 1st January.

It will feature both a spot prize promotion and grand prize promotion.

The latter consists of weekly prize draws offering customers the chance to win one of four prizes: cash towards Christmas, fuel for a year, energy for a year or shopping at SPAR for a year.

Shoppers can play daily to win one of more than 30,000 spot prizes redeemable at SPAR stores by sending a text. Every valid entry into the spot prize promotion will also give one free entry into each weekly grand prize promotion draw.

People can win additional entries into the weekly grand prize draw by scanning a QR code on a poster at a SPAR store or downloading a Merry Textmas app.

The app offers an in-store game that uses the customer camera to create an augmented reality Christmas tree, with virtual presents dotted around the store to place underneath.

A.F. Blakemore Group Marketing Director Sarah Ellis comments: “The Merry Textmas competition is one of our biggest in-store engagement campaigns this year. Following a successful trial at Easter, we’ve now rolled out a bigger and better campaign for our stores for Christmas.”

“It’s a chance for our stores and retailers to do something special for their shoppers. The prizes reflect the issues that are keeping our customers awake at night, so we’re looking to ensure they have the best Christmas.”

“The competition is a great opportunity for retailers to attract new customers into their stores, promote their products and create a positive brand experience.”  

The Merry Textmas campaign will be supported across social media and SPAR Radio.