KAILUA-KONA — How would you feel if suddenly your refrigerator was magically stocked with brewed libations, gratis, for the next 12 months?
KAILUA-KONA — How would you feel if suddenly your refrigerator was magically stocked with brewed libations, gratis, for the next 12 months?
“Yeah!” Dallas Styner, a general contractor, said emphatically in the parking lot of HPM Building Supply in Kona on Monday. “I’d like free beer for a year!”
With St. Patrick’s Day fast approaching, HPM and its Vice President of Marketing Lee Wilson are betting you’re interested, too, whether you’ve got the suspect luck of the Irish pumping through your veins or not.
That belief is furthered by information Wilson has heard but said he can’t specifically confirm — that Hawaii Island is the quasi-beer capital of the country, boasting the highest per capita consumption of suds in the United States.
And so from March 11 through April 9, anyone off the street, patron or otherwise, can visit one of HPM’s three locations in Kona, Hilo or Waimea and pick up a scratch card that just might land them all the beer they can drink.
Wilson said the Willy Wonka-esque promotional event with a tipsy twist was born of an idea about green brew when a group of employees sat together brainstorming how to drive traffic into HPM stores.
“We all know people who would enjoy winning this type of prize,” he said. “I think a large part of our customers, and people who like the building trade and home improvement, enjoy a beer after a long day of hard work.”
And Wilson intends to give it to them.
A total of 1,500 scratch cards will contain the coveted shamrock, which when returned to any HPM location will allow for entry into a drawing for the grand prize — a $1,200 gift card to a grocery store yet to be named for whatever kind of brew speaks to you.
Other prizes include gift certificates to KTA Superstores, the Kona Brewing Company and discounts at HPM, among others.
Renee Veincent, branch coordinator of operations in Kona and a 16-year employee of HPM, said she’s seen excitement ratchet up among regulars at the store since the promotion was announced.
She’s just sad she’s not eligible, as employees and their families are barred from winning contest prizes.
“Everybody wants to win beer,” she laughed.
Raphael Ramirez, who is serving as superintendent for the construction of a home at Kukio, rolls into HPM Kona once or twice every week.
Now that the promotion is on, he said he might find reason to stop by more often.
“I might show up two or three times a week,” he laughed. “Hopefully, I can get the free beer for a year.”
Styner said he doubted any other type of product promotion would garner as much interest, agreeing that free beer made much more sense than free milk, for instance.