Hunt underway for America’s smartest shopper

Time Inc.’s ALL YOU media property is looking for individuals worthy of the distinction of being called “America’s Smartest Shopper,” and is relying on a range of digital methods to aid in the search.

The program launched on July 25 when ALL YOU encouraged smart shoppers to enter via social media with the hashtag #aysmartestshopper or submit their best shopping tip at www.allyou.com/smartestshopper. The contest was also promoted in the August issue of ALL You available at retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, Publix and other retailers with August 15 set as the dealine for submissions.

As part of the contest, which is sponsored by Samsung, ALL YOU will select 25 semifinalists who will be given a new Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphone to create a 60-second video that explains why they are worthy of being called America’s Smartest Shopper. The field of entrants will be narrowed to 10 finalists and then ALL YOU will open the contest to voting between September 17 and October 3 to determine the winner. Three finalists will receive a trip with a guest to New York City, where the winner will be revealed live on NBC’s TODAY Show.

"The influx of technology has propelled the smart shopping movement forward," said Suzanne Quint, publisher of ALL YOU. "In fact, 84% of ALL YOU readers use their smartphones to search for deals while shopping. There is a deep, intrinsic link between the two and we are thrilled to partner with Samsung on The Search for America's Smartest Shopper."

The big winner is the contest is likely to be ALL YOU, a media property launched more than a decade ago as a print product available exclusively at Walmart. Since then, the brand has penetrated other retailers while consistently finding ways to successfully integrate digital and physical initiatives to engage readers and drive value for advertisers. The Smartest Shopper contest is a good example of the strategy as last year nearly 200,000 readers voted.