BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- Beginning this month, two Bowling Green, Ky.-based businesses have entered an exclusive partnership. Earnhart + Friends is now the agency of record for all advertising, public relations and marketing needs for convenience retailer Minit Mart, according to both owners, who are related by marital ties.
For Minit Mart owner Fred Higgins, the deal means that the marketing for all 34 stores in Kentucky and Tennessee will be a concerted, united effort, said The Daily News, freeing Minit Mart to focus on building the restaurant operations within its convenience stores.
Higgins said about 26 out of his 34 stores have foodservice brands, including Cuppajoe, O'Deli's, Godfather's Pizza and the soon-to-be-announced Minit Mix fountain drink.
For Earnhart + Friends, it means another prominent client added to its rotation, said the report.
Higgins said previous work with Earnhart + Friends was done on a case-by-case basis. In 2006, the agency rebranded Minit Mart's coffee product line, Cuppajoe, and other projects included promotional events, outdoor and point-of-sale (POS) print work. Sales for Cuppajoe rose almost 40% from November 2006 to February 2007, the report said.
Higgins' business went from just being convenience stores to convenience restaurants in 1991, he said. His stores compete with meal options in standalone restaurants in many rural areas. The Dawson Springs, Ky., Minit Mart is expected to reopen in March with Higgins' restaurant brands.
Minit Mart is in the process of rebuilding stores in Nicholasville and Harrodsburg to offer O'Deli's and Godfather's pizza options as well as the Cuppajoe and Minit Mix fountain beverages, he told the newspaper. Seven more stores will add food operations by 2010. In the meantime, customers will notice ads about the Minit Mix fountain drinks by spring. The O'Deli's brand is next to be overhauled and publicized by early fall, according to Earnhart.
The biggest challenge for both Earnhart and Higgins is convincing customers to rethink the way convenience store food is perceived, they said.
With new information and accounting systems on the way as well for Minit Mart, Higgins sees the partnership as a better opportunity to improve operations, the company's image and communication better with customers. "We're striving to get better," Higgins said. "We're listening for the next change."
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