Toys ‘R’ Us Plays Deal or No Deal In-Store

Toys ‘R’ Us is bringing NBC’s hit TV show Deal or No Deal in-store with an instant-win game dangling a $1 million prize.

Toys ‘R’ Us’ marketing blitz is timed to the beginning of Deal or No Deal’s second season. The game show lets contestants choose between sealed briefcases that contain as much as $1 million.

From Oct. 1 through Oct. 28, Toys ‘R’ Us puts a total of 140 million game pieces in its weekly newspaper circular. Consumers bring a game piece to one of its stores, then chooses between the “deal”—a 10% discount on one item—or “no deal,” a random drawing that will award $1 million and lesser prizes including an Xbox 360 video game system, MP3 players and Toys ‘R’ Us gift cards. (All players win at least a 5% discount on one item.)

Deal or No Deal host Howie Mandel will appear at the Toys ‘R’ Us Times Square store on Sept. 28 to kick off the campaign. That store will have a branded boutique selling Deal or No Deal board games, card games and electronic games.

Toys ‘R’ Us supports the campaign with TV (on NBC and cable networks), radio and ads on its Web site. The promo is designed to jumpstart store traffic for the onset of the crucial holiday shopping season.

“The Deal or No Deal promotion is a great opportunity for us to translate the show’s popularity into the retail arena and create excitement in our stores before the holidays even begin,” said Senior VP-Marketing Greg Ahearn in a statement.

The joint promo also brings Deal or No Deal into a new venue to reach families, a key audience for the show. Licensing shop Joy Tashjian Marketing Group, Los Angeles, negotiated the licensing deal between Deal or No Deal producer Endemol USA and Wayne, NJ-based Toys ‘R’ Us.

Toys ‘R’ Us sales rose nearly 14% to $4.8 billion for the first half of fiscal 2006, ended July 29. Still, the company posted a net loss of $143 million for the half, due in part to restructuring charges. Toys ‘R’ Us has closed 87 stores this year as part of its turnaround plan under a group of investors that bought the chain in July 2005. (PROMO Xtra, June 23, 2005).

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