Jun 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Betsy Spethmann

Grocery Giant Supervalu is firing up the summer grilling season with an online sweepstakes and advergame for its four regional supermarket chains: Albertsons, Acme, Jewel-Osco and Shaw's.

Players register for the Hot Off the Grill sweeps at www.CheckOutSupervalu.com for a shot at a $5,000 backyard makeover, a vacuuming robot or free groceries — standard sweepstakes fare.

But there's dessert: Each registrant gets a personal URL to send to friends, post on a blog or share via chat boards. Every time someone clicks through the URL, that player gets an extra sweeps entry. (They also earn entries for opting in for an e-mail newsletter, and playing the advergame on the site.) It's a way to drive site traffic and, more importantly, inject the brand into conversations between friends.

The advergame challenges visitors to keep food from piling up on a virtual grill. A short version of the grocer's TV spots runs between games, and a roster of recipes appears at the end of play.

The content is branded separately for Supervalu's regional banners, but the chains share a single prize pool and database.

The site runs through July 15, timed to grilling season.

Interactive promo shop Launchfire handles the site. The agency built a similar site for Albertsons that was live in the fall of 2006. That success prompted Supervalu to run an expanded site for all its chains.

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