Shopping Center Boosts Holiday Traffic With Cookie Toss

Danville, IL…A cookie toss promotion sweetened the holiday season for both shoppers and retailers at the Village Mall Shopping Center.

The "Throw for Dough Cookie Toss" promotion offered $10,000 to the shopper who could toss a cookie into a bowl of milk sitting 20 feet away. Looking to create excitement and boost traffic, the mall worked with Nunes and Associates to design this creative promotion.

Each week leading up to the promotion, a name was drawn to participate. Five contestants were chosen in three ways for a total of 15 contestants: from registrations at participating mall stores, from cookie recipes submitted to a local radio station, and from the crowd right before the promotion started.

To increase mall traffic, contestants had to be present when their name was called. "We wanted to get them coming back to the mall throughout the holidays," said Marketing Director Lisa Masengale-Acton.

Local stores got in on the fun, too. A bakery gave away free cookies and milk to everyone who came to watch, and Santa was on hand to entertain the kids.

On competition day, the 15 lucky contestants wore matching red "Throw for Dough" shirts. Fourteen of them tried and missed, and then the last contestant, Mike Hannan of Westville, Illinois, stepped up. He tossed his cookie right into the bowl of milk and won $10,000, paid by SCA!

The crowd cheering Hannan on was enormous, according to Masengale-Acton. "We were swamped! Mall traffic definitely increased during the promotion."

"We would definitely use SCA again. Merchants felt like they were part of the event, and there was something for everyone. Kids had free cookies and milk with Santa, and the adults had a chance to win $10,000!" Masengale-Acton said.

Bottom Line Creative promotions with big prizes draw big crowds. Village Mall Shopping Center kept consumers coming back all holiday season.