Phillip Matherne wasn’t expecting to win anything. In fact, prior to receiving the surprising news, he’d forgotten he’d entered a sweepstakes at all.
But indeed he did, and as a result he recently enjoyed a free trip to Chicago – and a few more goodies on top of that – courtesy of ALDI. The Luling man was one of just 25 winners chosen from more than 12,000 entrants in the ALDI Quarter Club sweepstakes.
Winners of the contest received a year’s worth of groceries (valued at $1,700 in Aldi gift cards), a custom varsity-style Quarter Club jacket and other merchandise, an exclusive invitation to a members-only event at Aldi’s headquarters, and a chance to be featured on ALDI’s social media channels.
Including Matherne, each entrant wrote a 200-word essay and up to two photos answering the prompt question, “What is the boldest move you’ve made in the name of ALDI that sets you apart as a super fan?” Matherne decided to try his hand at it following the opening of ALDI in Luling over the summer.
“I saw an ad for the Quarter Club contest and didn’t think anything of it,” Matherne said. “And I look into it and I think, well, I have nothing but time and opportunities. I can make a whole list of this.”
One thing that was rather helpful in Matherne’s endeavor: he’s actually a really big fan of the store.
“My wife introduced me to ALDI when it opened up in Metairie. And we walk in and see all of the food products, the healthy choices, all of the new clothing and tools, anything that you can think of. I started following their weekly ads and the things I’d find … I felt like, OK, they’re onto something here with these (special weekly offers),” Matherne said. “You can find these things at other stores, but you’re paying some high market prices with those.”
One deal he was especially fond of was one he found two years ago on a gazebo patio set, pool and inflatable projector and outdoor movie screen to go with it.
“We had a backyard barbeque, and all of the food came from ALDI, we had the pool going, the movie projector playing out … so that was what I wrote about in my essay,” he said.
Still, after submitting the entry, he didn’t give it much thought from there. You can’t win if you don’t enter on one hand – but on the other, the odds of winning weren’t high – 25 out of 12,000 entries is just 0.002 percent, and there were more entries than that.
“I forgot I even applied,” Matherne said. “How many times do you enter contests here and there, and I mean, you never win.”
But a month later, he received a call from a travel agency noting he advanced into the final round of selection. He wasn’t sure the call was legitimate at first – it wasn’t from ALDI, specifically. He got the confirmation he needed and submitted the forms necessary to continue.
A week later, he got another call – with better news.
“They told me I was the winner,” Matherne said. “I was like, there’s no way. No way. I thought I had a good submission, but not the best or anything like that.”
ALDI flew him and the other winners to Chicago for a three-day, two-night trip, all expenses paid.
“It was phenomenal. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience,” said Matherne.
The 25-person group of winners comprised the Quarter Club. It is named as a nod to the quarter that unlocks every ALDI cart – shoppers insert a quarter into a slot on the handle, which releases the cart from a chain that connects it to others. The shopper gets the quarter back when they return the cart to its proper place and re-attach it to the chain. The system encourages customers to return their carts.
The group got to taste test different products and met with company leadership. The ALDI marketing team showed how they produce their commercials and utilize social media in promotion.
Aldi is known for mainly selling exclusively produced, custom-branded products, often very similar to and produced by major brands, and its weekly special offers, some of which on more expensive products like electronics, tools, appliances, or computers.
This was the first Quarter Club competition – which means that no matter how many more contests there are, Matherne will always be a member of the original Quarter Club.
