Sears Launches “Golden Wish” Holiday Sweeps
Sears has launched a giveaway promotion intended to build traffic in both its stores and at its Web site before Black Friday, the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season on the day after Thanksgiving.
Starting today and extending through Dec. 24, shoppers who come to Sears’ stores will be able to take part in the “Search for the Golden Wish Ticket’ giveaway. Customers will pick up and peel a “wish ticket” to find out if they’ve won one of 40 “golden wish” prizes or 22,000 other instant-win awards.
The top “Golden Wish” prizes include once-in-a-lifetime experiences, such as a custom bedroom makeover from Ty Pennington, the host of the “Extreme Makeover” TV show; a shopping spree for media equipment in either New York or Los Angeles with rapper LL Cool J; and a chance to ride a Diehard-themed orange County Chopper with the Teutuls, the host family from the “American Chopper” show.
“The contest is an extension of the core ‘wish book’ equity that Sears owns,” says Tom Aiello, a spokesman for the company. “Our theme for the holidays is “Don’t just give a gift, grant a wish,’ and this tied in very nicely to that idea.”
Visitors to the Sears Web site can also take part in the “Golden Wish Ticket” promotion, after registering at the site with their name and e-mail address. In that online play, they can choose to have animated icons of Pennington, LL Cool J or the Teutuls dip into a virtual grab bag and pull out a gift. Players can then choose whether to replace that gift and choose another or to open it and claim the prize inside, if any.
The “Search for the Golden Wish Ticket’ promotion links to Sears’ holiday TV ads, which concentrate on the difference that wishes granted made in the lives of Pennington, LL Cool J and its other celebrity icons. For example, the gift of a turntable supposedly gave the young rapper a direction in life, and the gift of a toolbox helped determine Pennington’s course.
Sears is also offering a “Heroes at Home Wish Registry” that will let shoppers and Web visitors donate to a fund that will award gift cards worth up to $550 to 20,000 active-duty military personnel and their families this holiday.
Last year the retailer brought back its signature catalog “Wish Book’ after a 15-year hiatus.
Other “Golden Wish” prizes include a backyard makeover, with Craftsman yard appliances, a Kenmore gas grill and Monaco patio furniture; a Kenmore kitchen makeover in consultation with designer Eric Cohler; and a Sony dream media room complet4e with HDTV, Blu-ray disc player, Sony sound system and PlayStation 3. Other prize awards include jewelry, Kenmore kitchen appliances, Craftsman tools, gift cards for apparel and a free snow blower or lawnmower tune-up.
Sears has printed more than 30 million “wish tickets” and will distribute them while the supply lasts. Individual customers can play the game once a day, either online on in-store, for the duration of the promotion.
Sears has also said it will be offering unadvertised in-store specials both on Black Friday, Nov. 28, and through the rest of the holiday shopping season, as an incentive to get customers to visit the stores more often.
Kmart, another retail chain owned by parent company Sears Holdings Corporation, has already introduced early-bird holiday sales and a Disney-themed giveaway contest and is highlighting its layaway feature to appeal to cash-strapped Christmas shoppers.
