Instead of promoting the big prizes, Cruisin’ to Win focused on the small ones. In the first two years of the campaign, it was to jolt people out of their inertia by using ‘reality radio’ to talk up the small prizes. In the third year of the campaign (2005), the strategy was to call people who almost made it big by winning a contest but didn’t quite get there. Instead, the idea was to encourage the person to play ‘Cruisin to Win’ for a chance to ‘win big’.

Cruisin’ to Win – now in its third year - racked up 9% year-over-year increases in same - store sales across New England in 2005. The campaign overachieved its business objectives, resulting in a cumulative growth of 22.6% over three years. Irving saw a flow of new customers in key opportunity/non-user segments, and generated a lift in top-of-mind awareness, brand liking and personality. Ad tracking clearly demonstrated that the advertising resonated with consumers, with high levels of awareness well above industry norms (69% in New England and 84% in Eastern Canada).