SPAR RETRIEVES ALL-STAR BASEBALL BALLOTS FROM 13,000 SUBWAY RESTAURANTS IN A FLASH

TARRYTOWN, N.Y., August 31, 2002 - When Pepsi placed millions of All-Star Game player ballots at 13,000 Subway restaurants, they needed a fast retrieval method. Rapid tabulation would help Pepsi announce its All-Star baseball dream team with energy and excitement.

So Pepsi hired SPAR Group, America's leading retail merchandising company, to collect all ballots in a blazing-fast five days and quickly ship them to Pepsi's tabulation center. Such an operation would traditionally take about four weeks.

Furthermore, SPAR's advanced Internet-based technologies let everyone know the project status in real time so that any unexpected situations could be resolved at once. It normally takes as much as five or six weeks to report field issues, making effective resolution all but impossible.

The Pepsi All-Star Major League Baseball Game Ballot appeared in Subway restaurants from May 15 to June 20, 2002. Ballots listed each player position for the American League team and likewise for the National League Team, with six or seven popular choices in each category. All 13,000 Subway restaurants in the U.S. had an inventory of ballots and a ballot box to hold voted forms.

To retrieve final ballots in time, SPAR assigned 1,525 merchandising specialists to sweep every participating Subway restaurant as the balloting ended. SPAR's proprietary Internet-based logistics system automatically assigned each specialist and gave them pick-up schedules and instructions.

The SPAR staff retrieved each ballot box, prepared the contents for shipping by UPS or Fed Ex, and delivered them to designated shipping locations. SPAR specialists confirmed project status in real time by uploading completion information to the SPAR database using Interactive Voice Response or the Internet. If any issues arose, they were captured using SPAR's proprietary Issue Tracking/Resolution System, which ensured immediate and continuous attention until a satisfactory end was achieved.

The SPAR sweep worked perfectly and Pepsi was able to tabulate and announce America's favorite All-Star Baseball Game players on schedule. Advanced technology made this national promotion succeed.

To learn more about SPAR Group and its unmatched retail merchandising programs, call 914-332-1400, email servingyou@sparinc.com or check www.sparinc.com.