Editorial: How Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market CEO Tim Mason Can Fix the 'Side by Side' Wine Promotion FUBAR

Displays of "Side by Side" wines, like the one pictured in the photograph above which was taken in a Fresh & Easy market in Southern California on June 16, are now being built in the grocer's stores.

Standing 'Side by Side'

On May 24, 2011 Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market advertised a new wine brand - "Side by Side" - in two varieties - Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay - for $5.99 bottle, in its "friends of fresh & easy" promotional flyer (view here), which is e-mailed to customers who sign up for the "friends" program.

As part of the promotion - which hasn't happened until now because there hasn't been any "Side by Side" wine in the stores - Fresh & Easy is donating $1 for each bottle of wine sold to the Azalea Charities' "Aid For Wounded Warriors" program.

On May 25 we wrote this story - 'Side by Side': Wine at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Aids America's Wounded Warriors - about the new wine brand and the promotion, which was targeted to begin on May 24-25, leading up to the Memorial Day weekend and holiday, the following Monday, May 30.

Beginning two days after we published our story, it started getting comments (see here) from readers saying they couldn't find the "Side by Side" wines in Fresh & Easy stores.

After getting a few such comments, we checked the situation out and couldn't find the wine in any of the stores we called or checked on in person.

We also put out a message to the numerous Fresh & Easy store workers who read the blog, asking them about the availability of the "Side by Side" wine with the donation to the wounded warriors' program. Not one of the employees had even heard about the wine brand, telling us it wasn't in the stores where they work.

Over the Memorial Day weekend Fresh & Easy Buzz correspondents checked numerous additional Fresh & Easy stores in California, Nevada and Arizona. No "Side by Side" wine in any of the grocery stores.

Memorial Day came and went and none of the 175 Fresh & Easy stores had the "Side by Side" wine in stock."

In fact, it wasn't until Tuesday (June 14) or Wednesday (June 15) that the first stores started receiving the wine, which is three weeks after Fresh & Easy advertised it in the May 24 "friends of fresh & easy" e-mailer.

We got a heads up from a good source on June 16 that the "Side by Side" wine was being shipped to the stores.

We checked a number of stores on Thursday and today, and all of them we checked had the wine, featured in the stores' wine departments on tower displays like the one at top, which is in a Southern California Fresh & Easy grocery market.

We aren't going to go into the details of what we've learned about the screw up because it doesn't make all that exciting of reading.

But its safe to say Fresh & Easy's corporate marketing and buying departments committed what the U.S. Military, which created the term, and others call a FUBAR.

A grocer shouldn't advertise a product, particularly when its one being promoted as a way to help wounded warriors, unless it has the product in the stores.

Such things can happen, of course. And if it was two or three days between the time the advertisement came out and the product hit the stores it wouldn't be a FUBAR. Instead it would be a mistake of a lessor magnitude.

But that's not the case. It's been three weeks from the time Fresh & Easy advertised the "Side by Side" wine and the product is starting to arrive in the stores.

Had the "Side by Side" wine been available during the week leading up to Memorial Day when it was advertised, we suspect shoppers, seeing that $1 a bottle is being donated to the wounded warriors' charitable organization, would have, because military service members are very top-of-mind leading up to Memorial Day, bought a considerable amount of the wine as a way to do their part to help the cause and wounded warriors, while at the same time getting some wine for the three day weekend.

The "Side by Side" wine is now available, at least in the stores we've checked and verified. That's good news in terms of its starting to generate some donation money via sales for the Azalea Charities' "Aid For Wounded Warriors" program.

But the non-profit group that helps wounded warriors and their families is out three weeks' worth of donations from sales of the wine because of Fresh & Easy's corporate headquarters FUBAR.

Therefore, we suggest Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market's CEO, Tim Mason, who's also the deputy CEO of Tesco and its chief marketing officer, make things right by making a donation in the name of Fresh & Easy to the Azalea Charities' "Aid For Wounded Warriors" program.

We think a corporate donation of about $3,000 would be fair to make up for the three weeks' of lost sales between the time (May 24, 2011) the "Side by Side" wine was first advertised in the "friends of fresh & easy" e-mailer and this week, when the wine finally started arriving in the stores.

Why $3,000? It represents average sales of 5-6 bottles of "Side by Side" wine per-store, per-week between May 24 and June 15, which we think is a fair average sales assumption, considering it's likely sales of the wine would have been brisk from May 24-May 30, had it been in stores that week leading up to Memorial Day, which was May 30.

Mr. Mason might also suggest to the senior executives responsible for the "Side by Side" wine FUBAR that they reach into their pockets and pony up a donation of $100 or more to the good folks at the organization that helps wounded warriors. If they do so, they'll remember next time to be bit more careful and not advertise a product that's not available to ship to the stores until three weeks later. In fact, as CEO Mason could set an example for them by making a similar donation out of his pocket to the Azalea Charities' "Aid For Wounded Warriors" program.

Making the 3,000 corporate donation would be a good way for Mason and Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market to demonstrate it's standing "Side by Side" with the Azalea Charities' "Aid For Wounded Warriors" program and the wounded warriors' and their families the no-profit organization helps.

'Side by Side': Wine at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market Aids America's Wounded Warriors

Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market is offering something extra as part of the introduction of its new "Side by Side" brand Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay wines this week.

For each bottle of wine sold, the grocer is donating $1 to Azalea Charities' "Aid For Wounded Warriors" program, which helps U.S. soldiers who've been wounded or injured in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The wine is being introduced in Tesco's 175 Fresh & Easy stores in California, Arizona and Nevada this week and is priced at $5.99 bottle, $1 of which goes to the fund to aid the wounded warriors.

The non-profit group assists soldiers who've been wounded or injured in Afghanistan and Iraq in variety of ways.

For example, the all-volunteer organization purchases specific items weekly for the wounded warriors, at the request of U.S. Military and Veterans Administration Medical Centers and Fisher House rehabilitation  facilities throughout the country. Many of the items bought are things not provided to the men and women as part of their military and veterans' medical care.

The Azalea Charities' project, which is based in Northern Virginia near the nation's capital, also provides financial support to the CrisisLink Program, which is a telephone hot line for the wounded warriors and their families.

You can learn more about Azalea Charities' "Aid for Wounded Warriors" program here. There's also a link at the page that can be used to make an online donation.

We're approaching Memorial Day weekend, which includes cookouts and picnics but is really about honoring those who've made the ultimate sacrifice for their county.

We honor their families as well on Memorial Day, along with all those still living who've served.

And among those who've served and are still living, as a people and country we owe more to them than we're currently giving, particularly those wounded warriors who seldom if ever complain - in fact many want to get back to Afghanistan or Iraq and rejoin the brothers and sisters they left there - and define the term the "American Spirit."

We invite those of you reading this to join us in making a donation this week to whatever organization helping wounded warriors or veterans you choose.

For example, along with Azalea Charities' wounded warrior assistance program, there's the "Wounded Warrior Project," which offers a myriad of programs and services to aid wounded warriors and their families, as you can learn about at the group's website here.

Most of us can afford to donate $10, $20 or more to programs helping those who've served and were wounded or injured doing so.

There's no better time to help than now, a few days before Memorial Day.

If you don't think you can afford a small donation, look at it this way - just spend $10 or so less at the grocery store (sorry grocers) while stocking up for your backyard cookouts and Memorial Day picnics this weekend. Then donate that $10 or so to one of the two wounded warrior assistance programs mentioned in this story, or to any other organization assisting active duty soldiers or veterans.

Take our word for it, in the grand scheme of things doing so will make you feel even better than having that extra beer or two, second hamburger or hot dog and extra serving of dessert this weekend will.

And with the money you saved buying (and eating) a little bit less at the grocery store for your weekend party, you'll have enough to donate whatever amount you can afford to help those Americans who should be on our minds and in our thoughts not only on Memorial Day but throughout the year.

A Can-Do 'Canstruction' Project in Arizona: Building Giant Structures of Art Out of Food Cans to Fight Hunger

The 2009 'Best Meal' top-winner in Arizona's 'Canstruction' project to fight hunger was 'CAN You Dig It?' (the canned goods'-constructed bulldozer pictured above) by the Form Design/Kendle Design Collaborative/Ryan Companies designer-builder group. More about it here. Do you "Dig it?"

Arizona Market Region

Since 2007, the Society for Marketing Professional Services Arizona, the Arizona chapter of the national Society of Professional Marketing Services, has held its "Canstruction" to fight hunger canned food design-build competition in Metropolitan Phoenix.

The project combines the competitive spirit of a design-build competition with a unique way to help feed the hungry.

Competing "Canstruction" teams, led by architects, engineers and contractors, showcase their talents by designing and building giant structures made entirely out of canned foods, according to the Arizona organization.

The canned goods structures aren't mere "structures," by the way. Rather, they're works of real canned foods art.

All of the canned goods and materials used in the competition are provided by the designer-builder groups and competition sponsors. Additionally, some of the canned foods are donated by the food companies that make them. The Society for Marketing Professional Services Arizona runs the competition on an all-volunteer basis.

After the event is judged, all of the canned food items used to build the structures are donated to Arizona's St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance, which is considered to be the first food bank in the world.

The 2010 "Phoenix Canstruction Competition" started on February 19, when all of the "build teams" started constructing their canned goods structures beginning at 9 pm. Yes, it's was an all-nighter. The teams have just 12 hours to build their structures, meaning the build must be completed by nine the following morning.

Beginning the very next day, February 20, and running until February 27, all of the canned food-constructed structures were on display at the Fiesta Mall in Mesa, Arizona, which is a suburb of Phoenix. The structure-building takes place at the mall.

The winners of the canned goods design-build contest were judged on February 24.

Three days later on February 27, the impressive structures built completely out of canned goods were torn down, with all of the canned foods donated to St. Mary's Food Bank. (Read more and view a video here.) The canned food from the structures amounts to the largest-single donation for the Arizona food bank for the year.

This year Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market, which has 31 of its 148 small-format Fresh & Easy fresh food and grocery stores in Metropolitan Phoenix Arizona, was one of the three lead-sponsors of the local "Canstruction" competition to fight hunger. All of the sponsors are listed here.

The competition presents awards to the design/build teams in a variety of categories.

For example, this year's winner in the "Best Meal" category is the SmithGroup/DPR/JJRFloor design team's "Giving is Winning" masterpiece (pictured above), which took as its inspiration the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Below is how the team describes its creation:

"In honor of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics (February 12-28), the SmithGroup/DPR/JJRFloor design team has created a nutritious structure of the official 2010 Winter Olympics logo: Ilanaaq the Inunnguaq, backed by a wall of the symbolic Olympic rings. Based on the stone landmarks or cairns (called Inukshuk) that were built by native peoples of the Arctic region, Ilanaaq is an actual stone structure that is located on Whistler Mountain in British Columbia. Ilanaaq is the Inuktitut word for “friend” and our team has created him and the Olympic wall out of tuna, soup, ravioli, green peas, olives, chili, and more. Comprised of over 5900 cans that will feed many thanks to our generous sponsors, Giving really is Winning for 2010 the SmithGroup/DPR/JJRFloor design team."

Another winner is the "Freedom from Hunger" canned goods structure (pictured above) built by the Arrington Watkins / Dibble Engineering / Paragaon Structural Engineers / LSW Engineering / CADsoft Consulting / Gilbane Building Company design/build team. The team describes its structure this way:

"Similar to the historic 'tearing down' of the Berlin Wall that divided East and West Germany, our can structure symbolizes breaking down the 'wall of hunger' that separates those who are hungry from the food they so desperately need."

You can view pictures of all the winning 2010 canned foods structures, in the various categories, here, along with photos of some of the 2009 competition's winners.

The Society for Marketing Professional Services Arizona, the group which runs the competition each year, was founded in 1983 and currently has more than 200 marketing professionals from the architecture, engineering and construction industry in Arizona, as members.

The Arizona "Canstruction" competition is one of many held throughout the world.

The the Society for Design Administration, (SDA) a design and building industry professional organization, created, runs and sponsors "Canstruction," which it calls "the most unique food charity in the world." Competitions are held throughout North America and in other parts of the world like Australia. Local SDA chapters, like Arizona's Society for Professional Marketing Services, run the competitions locally.

Local businesses, such as Tesco's Fresh & Easy in Arizona, sign on as local sponsors to the various "Canstruction" competitions in the numerous cities where they're held each February.

Local residents are also encouraged to bring canned and packaged food items when they come and view the structures on display, such as was the recent case at the Fiesta Mall in Mesa, Arizona. The community members' food donations are given to local food banks, along with all the canned goods from the deconstructed structures, once the event is over.

The very first "Canstruction" design-build competitions took place in 1992-1993 in Denver, Colorado; Seattle, Washington; and New York, operated by the SDA chapters in those respective cities.

Each year since then, more local SDA chapters, like the Phoenix association, have initiated "Canstruction" competitions to support local food banks and help those in need in their communities.

According to the SDA, since 1992-1993, ten million pounds of food from the annual competitions has been donated to aid in the fight against hunger.

From where we sit, "Canstruction" is about as big of a locally-based, community-minded, business-supported and volunteer-run "CAN-DO," "win-win" as you "CAN" get. We congratulate all those involved in the competitions - in Arizona, throughout the U.S., and all over the world.