Safeway at UC Davis Buzz 2014
The Overview
Safeway Inc., a leading American supermarket chain and subsidiary of Albertsons Companies, offers grocery items, food, and specialty merchandise across the U.S.
UC Davis Buzz is an annual fall welcome event for freshmen that features on-campus entertainment, games, food, and prizes. Hosted by ASUCD Entertainment Council, Campus Unions, Campus Recreation, and Student Housing, the event attracts an average of 8,000–10,000 attendees each year.
The Challange
Safeway wanted to reach the millennial demographic, an audience that was considered elusive and largely untapped in grocery retail. The goal was to test strategies to attract millennials and drive sign-ups for the Safeway Club Card.
I was tasked with:
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Developing an innovative campus activation to engage students.
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Presenting the concept to the Director of Merchandising and VP of Marketing for budget approval.
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Executing the pilot and signing up new Club Card members.
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Demonstrating the revenue potential of the millennial segment for Safeway.
The Solution
To test this opportunity, I proposed Safeway’s first-ever college campus activation, a Club Card sign-up event at UC Davis Buzz.
Key initiatives included:
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Conducting a dry run event at Safeway’s corporate headquarters to align stakeholders and refine logistics.
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Securing cross-functional support from merchandising, brand, and customer service teams.
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Partnering with a local Safeway store to supply materials and volunteers.
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Offering branded grocery bags and giveaways to drive on-site engagement
The Process
Impact
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375 new Club Card sign-ups; a record for Safeway’s in-person activations
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Projected $103K in net profits from new member activity.
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Validation that millennials are a viable growth segment for Safeway.
Takeaways
This pilot demonstrated that a Fortune 500 brand can meaningfully engage younger audiences by meeting them where they are. I learned how creative ideas, backed by collaboration and data, can transform into impactful business outcomes. The success of this activation gave me the confidence to continue testing bold, cross-functional marketing ideas.