Mountain
Dew Lets Fans Plan Tour, Events
by Karlene Lukovitz,
Typically, a brand
event is at least months in the planning -- or if not, likely requires hyper
mode by the agencies handling it.
But while
seat-of-the-pants activation may be inadvisable for most events, a 30-day,
69-city "grassroots" promotion tour that was part of Mountain Dew's
year-long "DEWmocracy 2" campaign may point to an alternative worth
considering.
In synch with
DEWmocracy 2's mission of engaging fans by having them campaign and vote to
determine which of three new Dew flavors would be rolled out by PepsiCo, the
destinations, activities and venues for the "DEWmocracy: The Flavor
Campaign" tour were also largely determined by fans.
The basic concept:
Three mobile teams comprising agency/marketer reps and hardcore Dew fans --
each team "campaigning" for its own Dew flavor (White Out, Typhoon or
Distortion) -- were sent on cross-country tours to engage people in the flavor competition/voting
through live events over four weeks, starting May 1.
The teams got the
ball rolling by using online and social media to let people know about the tour
and doing some initial organization of campaigning theme challenges that would
involve activities like skateboarding competitions, art exhibits, and sampling
opportunities at concerts/sporting events. But fans were told they would be
calling the shots on which cities were visited and the specifics of activities
to take place in their areas, including input on venues.
As a result, many
event decisions were made on the fly, based on consumers' input via Twitter and
a dedicated microsite. Fans also were urged to rally friends and families to
participate in the events, post photos and video content online and vote for
their favorite flavor.
The results were
eye-opening, says Matt Statman, founder of Motive, the lead creative agency for
the tour, who estimates that about 60% of tour activity decisions were made by
consumers.
The teams distributed
about 60,000 samples of the Dew flavors, made direct, in-person contact with
more than 100,000 consumers, and generated more than 1.5 million total
impressions in person, online and through social media, he tells Marketing
Daily.
Equally important
was the level of personal involvement exhibited by fans. "I've been doing
event marketing for 20 years," says Statman. "Usually, tours are so
prepared, with the costs and logistics of each stop pinned down well in
advance. This experience was a game-changer, from my perspective. Tapping the
'collective intelligence' by turning decisions over to consumers resulted in
far more opportunistic and meaningful engagement. The loyalty- and
community-building results were huge. I'll definitely be thinking about using
the core concept for future campaigns."
Consumers proved
eager to bring the tours to their towns, frequently volunteering or securing
low- or no-cost venues in their communities, as well as generating local
coverage of their events. For instance, one avid Dew fan threw a party in his
own basement, and was interviewed about it the next day on a local ABC-TV
affiliate.
Large venues like
arenas also proved quite receptive to last-minute Dew-fan "crash"
sampling events during concerts and sports events, and many even offered
lower-than-normal rates for hosting these "guerrilla" events, reports
Statman. An unexpected but welcome side benefit: The tour's overall activation
costs came in well under budget.
Some of the events
that took place during the tour:
- As part of a "Say I Dew Challenge"
theme, Team White Out hosted a Mountain Dew-themed wedding in
- Each team collected endorsements for its
flavor, ranging from the mayor and fire department of Pigeon Forge,
- An "Art of Good Taste" challenge
encouraged fans to tap into their local art scenes to create events and
bring the teams to their towns. Team White Out hosted a poster show in
which local Denver artists submitted prints with their interpretations of
a "White Out" theme. Team Distortion took part in a rooftop
graffiti show in
- As part of a "Skate Competition/Parkour Challenge,"
Team Typhoon organized a skating competition in Vans Skate Park in
- In a "Dew Goes Pro" challenge, teams
attended and brought sampling opps to both professional (New York Mets,
Durham Bulls, Seattle Mariners) and regional league team games.
- Each team took part in identifying concerts to
"crash," which Dew fans attended with glow sticks, beach balls
and ample soda samples. Concerts crashed included Seether, 2am Club with
Mike Posner and April Smith & The Great Picture Show.
- All three teams were on hand for the Indy 500
weekend and tour finale. More than 20,000 samples were distributed from
locations along the parade route and outside the Indianapolis Motor
Speedway.
PepsiCo recently
announced that the White Out flavor won the competition, pulling 44% of votes
versus 40% for Typhoon and 16% for Distortion. In total, the campaign
reportedly drew more than 2 million votes, and increased the brand's Facebook
fans by nearly 800,000.
For
more information visit www.mediapost.com
