The supermarket behind the collecting craze that swept New Zealand says it was "a bit of a surprise" just how many parents got in on the Disney Ooshies, helping make the promotion one of its biggest hits.
Woolworths brand and marketing lead Oliver Lynch said the company had expected the little figurines to appeal to children, but the reality had been far broader.
"We thought it was going to be firmly kids," he told BNZ Business Breakfast, adding it had turned out to be "much broader than that".
The Disney Ooshies promotion launched in mid-July and wrapped up at the weekend, though supermarkets across the country had been either sold out or running low of the figurines for some days. By August 7, Woolworths said two-thirds of its Ooshies stock had already been handed out and 90% of display cases had sold.
Two-thirds of stock was gone by early August, and Woolworths says an "emotional connection" drove the frenzy across the country. (Source: Breakfast)
Lynch said the supermarket always analysed a lot of data before deciding which promotional campaigns to run, but this one had hit differently.
"It's an emotional connection," he said. "So people can look at all the data they like, but this is an emotional connection and it's just been amazing to see how much people have been loving Ooshies all across New Zealand."
Lynch said Woolworths did not release weekly sales figures, but the supermarket had enjoyed a "good few weeks".
He rejected any suggestion the chain had lifted prices during the popular campaign, saying it had been "quite the opposite".
"We've got new customers coming in so we're making sure we've got some incredible specials going on," he said, pointing to the supermarket's half-price weeks and 99c avocados.
The focus now was on keeping those customers coming back even with the Ooshies campaign over, Lynch said. He said it could take more than a year to plan and design a promotional campaign, and the next one was already in the works.
"We're always looking ahead. It's an incredibly competitive market. We know our competitors are doing similar things. This has been a great success for us," he said.
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