Walkers 'Do Us A Flavour' challenge attracts one million

LONDON - Walkers has had more than 1.1m entries and substantial web visits for its 'Do Us A Flavour' competition, asking the public to suggest a new crisp flavour for a 拢50,000 prize and 1% share of future royalties.

Walkers expected 250,000 entries when the campaign began in July, but since the website launched it has seen a total of 2.4m sessions, with visitors spending an average of nine minutes online per session. At its peak in August, the website had 102,000 web sessions per day.

Using the over the last three months, users have been able to submit personal entries, upload images, rate other people's flavours, including celebrity entries. Entries could also be submitted by post and SMS.

Walkers first tested its multimedia campaigning with its "Brits Trips" promotion in 2008, which generated a 2,575% growth in unique users to its website between June 2007 and June 2008.

Miranda Sambles, marketing manager at Walkers, said: "We're absolutely bowled over with the number of entries we've had.

"We never expected to be hitting the 1m mark, but it's great to see everyone joining in and engaging with what the site and campaign has to offer.

"The 'Do Us A Flavour' and 'Brit Trip's promotions mark a step change in the way Walkers engages with consumers."

January 2009 will see the top six flavours, as chosen by the judging panel including Michelin starred chef, Heston Blumenthal, go into production and on sale across the UK.

The public will be asked to decide the eventual winner via the voting system on the Walkers website. The winner will be announced on May 2 2009.