The "Judge for Yourself" display contest was designed to increase consumer awareness and sales of Wisconsin cheese through the use of creative, in-store awards-themed dairy/deli displays.

To participate, eligible retail chains were required to hold a qualifying "Judge for Yourself" Wisconsin Cheese display contest, involving at least 80% of their stores. Each store promoted a minimum of three brands and six varieties of Wisconsin Cheese through the use of print advertising and in-store displays. More than 800 stores participated in all, with displays touting WMMB's awards theme, conveying to consumers the pride and passion that continues to earn Wisconsin Cheese world-wide honors.

In addition to the three grand-prize winners, runners up in the contest were: Penn Traffic, Syracuse, N.Y.; Lowes Food Stores, Charlotte, N.C., Kroger, Memphis, Tenn.; K Mart, nationally; King Soopers, Denver; Frys, Arizona; and Dierbergs, St. Louis.

"The display promotion was developed to drive Wisconsin Cheese sales by creating excitement and awareness among consumers and store personnel," said Michael DiCarlo, marketing mgr. for WMMB's Midwest region. "The displays attracted consumer attention toward the dairy and deli case, while the awards theme highlighted Wisconsin's unparalleled tradition of quality in cheesemaking and reinforced the fact that Wisconsin produces more award-winning cheeses than any other state or country."

Caption: n Copps Food Center, Milwaukee, Wis., (pictured) Rainbow Foods, Minneapolis; and Haggen Food and Pharmacy, Seattle; took top honors in the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board's "Judge for Yourself" retail display contest, announced at the recent IDDBA show in Las Vegas.