"The 'Freeze The Swamp' campaign is our way of saying 'thank you' to our Gainesville customers and University of Florida fans," said John Fisher, senior [image-nocss] vice president of marketing for The Pantry. "Gainesville has historically been The Pantry's highest-performing frozen market across our 11-state footprint making it an ideal location to work with ICEE to launch this program."
The promotion will be introduced to the market on Wednesday September 1 with an employee rally at one of the flagship Kangaroo Express stores near campus. The rally will feature an appearance by Albert the gator and the ICEE bear.
The Freeze the Swamp promotion will begin with the University of Florida's season opener against Miami University of Ohio on September 4. Gator fans can cool off at Kangaroo Express' onsite Fan Fest booth while tailgating. The booth opens three hours before kickoff and features an ice bar with free ICEE samples of the new Gator Blue and Gator Orange ICEE flavors. During Gator home games, the stadium's announcer and LED screens will encourage fans to stand up, cheer and Freeze the Swamp each time the opposing team attempts a field goal.
The two special Gator flavors will be available at each of the Gainesville-Ocala Kangaroo Express locations. Any size ICEE is only 99 cents, including the 32-oz. Freeze The Swamp souvenir cup that features the University of Florida's football schedule.
"Collaborating with Kangaroo Express is a great opportunity to expand our reach in the Gainesville area to both new customers trying our products for the first time and loyal customers looking for a more convenient location to purchase an ICEE," said Dan Fachner, president of The ICEE Co. "We look forward to helping Gator fans 'Freeze The Swamp' and engaging with the local community."
In addition to installing ICEE machines and new water filtration systems, ICEE will provide store-level training and marketing support to help promote the frozen category in each of the 92 Kangaroo Express locations. The new machines will be serviced by The ICEE Co.'s Orlando office to ensure that any service issues are resolved in a timely manner.
ICEE is a subsidiary company of J&J Snack Foods Corp. and is a leader in the frozen beverage industry with more than 40 years of market presence. ICEEs can be found in a variety of retail, convenience, and amusement locations. The home office for ICEE is located in Ontario, Calif.
Headquartered in Cary, N.C., The Pantry is a leading independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern United States and one of the largest independently operated convenience store chains in the country. As of June 10, 2010, the company operated 1,642 stores in 11 states under select banners, including Kangaroo Express, its primary operating banner. The Pantry's stores offer a broad selection of merchandise, as well as gasoline and other ancillary services.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.