SAN FRANCISCO, April 27, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Diamond Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq:DMND) today announced the winners of the inaugural Emerald Nuts Underdog Bracket Game. The sweepstakes promotion, which launched on February 2 and concluded on April 15, was a twist on traditional college basketball bracket games, and offered fans the chance to win up to $10,000 by supporting underdog teams. Overall, there were nearly 400,000 total entries in the 2010 Emerald Underdog Bracket Game, a new record for the brand in terms of consumer engagement during an online promotion.
"Diamond Foods recognized a great opportunity to take advantage of one of the year's most popular snacking periods in a way that reflected and represented the essence of the Emerald Nuts brand," said Craig Tokusato, Vice President of Marketing for Diamond Foods. "We are extremely pleased by the overwhelming success of this promotion in its inaugural year, especially considering the competing efforts of larger brands with greater resources. Like the unsung heroes of the college basketball tournament, we were able to capitalize on opportunities during March to energize the Emerald Nuts brand."
"The Underdog Bracket game proved to be a smart, unique and fun way for consumers to interact with the Emerald brand, leading to impressive first-year success," said Aaron Lobliner, Vice President and Managing Director of PrizeLogic. "The inaugural promotion saw registered participants average more than 10 return visits to the site, which is a return rate significantly higher than similar online instant win promotions. Diamond developed an ownable and scalable platform that consumers clearly enjoyed, considering both the high number of entries and the amount of times registrants returned to participate in the promotion," said Lobliner.
Emerald Underdog Bracket Game Winners
The winners of the promotion were randomly chosen among participants who correctly predicted an underdog team to make it the furthest in their Regional Conference, as well as the overall winner, during March's national college basketball tournament. Diamond Foods and Emerald Nuts congratulate the following winners of the 2010 Emerald Underdog Bracket Game:
- Grand Prize: The $10,000 Underdog Bracket winner is Kathryn Gioe, 29, from Hanover Park, Ill. Ms. Gioe was among the 3,925 entrants who correctly chose Murray State as the underdog to make it the furthest in the West Region.
- Second Prize: The $5,000 Underdog Bracket Favorite Team winner is Clare Nowlan, 52, from Fair Haven, N.J. Ms. Nowlan was among the 990 entrants who correctly picked Duke to win the championship.
- 500 entrants also instantly won prizes up to $200 as part of daily giveaways on UnderdogBracket.com and through mobile texts.
In addition to the aforementioned winners, Emerald Nuts announced the total number of participants who correctly picked the other underdogs that made it the furthest in their respective regions:
- The Eastern Regional Underdog, Cornell, was correctly selected 4,161 times - the most-selected of the final four underdog teams.
- The Southern Regional Underdog, St. Mary's, was selected 4,149 times.
- The Midwest Regional Underdog, Northern Iowa, was the least common selection of all the underdogs with 2,647 entries.
Of note, Kansas, which was upset by Northern Iowa, was the most popular selection for the Underdog Bracket Favorite Team, with 1,783 entry selections.
In addition to the website, UnderdogBracket.com, the Underdog Bracket promotion, developed by Mars Advertising, was supported with online ads and trial-building offers, as well as displays and shelf signage in retailers nationwide. For more information, please visit www.emeraldnuts.com or www.UnderdogBracket.com.
About Diamond Foods
Diamond Foods is a high-growth innovative packaged food company focused on building, acquiring and energizing brands including Kettle® Chips, Emerald® snack nuts, Pop Secret® popcorn, and Diamond of California® culinary and snack nuts. The Company's products are distributed in a wide range of stores where snacks and culinary nuts are sold.
Corporate Web Site: www.diamondfoods.com
Consumer Web Sites: www.kettlefoods.com, www.kettlefoods.co.uk, www.emeraldnuts.com, www.popsecret.com, www.diamondnuts.com, www.feedyourfingers.com, www.UnderdogBracket.com
The Diamond Foods, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6112