Chicago Bears strike deal with Dr Pepper!

(Crain's) — The Chicago Bears have signed an exclusive sponsorship deal with Dr Pepper Snapple Group, ending a longtime relationship with Coca-Cola Co. at Soldier Field.

The seven-year deal, which sources say is worth $3 million annually, will make RC Cola, 7UP and Dr Pepper among the primary brands served at Bears games and give the Plano, Texas-based distributor lone beverage branding rights with the team.

As a part of the agreement, which will make Dr Pepper one of the team's nine top-tier "Hall of Fame" corporate sponsors, the Bears plan to open a new "Dr Pepper Patio" this season in the south stands of Soldier Field. The new area will include live entertainment, new food and beverage options and a lounge area among other amenities.

"We were very attracted to (Dr Pepper's) marketing acumen," said Chris Hibbs, the Bears' vice president of sales and marketing.

Mr. Hibbs said the team had no intention of leaving Coca-Cola after its most recent contract with the beverage giant ended in February, but Dr Pepper's strong demographic impact in Chicago made it a good fit.

"They really wanted this partnership, and they're going to activate around it. They're going to integrate the Bears with everything they do," said Mr. Hibbs. "You don't see every sports marketer doing it that way."

The deal, which will be announced on Tuesday, will also extend beyond Soldier Field. The soda company also will own sponsorship of the Bears' training camp program in Bourbonnais, where the brand "aligned well demographically" with those who attend each year, Mr. Hibbs said.

It also marks the first exclusive beverage deal with an NFL team for Dr Pepper, which is better known for its collegiate sports sponsorships.

The company has been the official sponsor of the NCAA Football Coaches' Trophy as well as ESPN college football programming, while its only other NFL sponsorship deal is with the Dallas Cowboys, which it shares with Pepsi.

"It's a great opportunity for us to put our brands in front of the huge audience that follows the Bears, both in the stadium and beyond Soldier Field," said Chris Barnes, corporate affairs manager at Dr Pepper Snapple Group.

Mr. Barnes said detailed advertising plans are still in the works.

The Bears are one of only a handful of NFL teams that miss out on potential revenue from naming rights to its stadium, forcing the team to find new ways to generate more non-football revenue through various sponsorship deals.

Soldier Field is owned and managed by the Chicago Park District, but the franchise owns the marketing rights and other revenue opportunities, including suites, ticket sales and advertising in and around the building.

Other Dr Pepper products include A&W Root Beer, Sunkist, Canada Dry, Deja Blue bottled water and Mott's apple juice.

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Mt Dew Does National TV as It Hunts for Upside in Key Regions

Mtn Dew is amping up national TV buys, which could help it boost sales in underdeveloped markets around the country.

The soda brand, better known lately for crowdsourcing efforts -- dubbed "Dewmocracy" -- is nearly doubling its TV spend with the launch of the campaign and tagline "This is how we Dew."
"Folks are familiar with Dew, but may not have thought about it in a while," said Brett O'Brien, VP-marketing for Mtn Dew and flavored carbonated drinks.

The soda has been one of the best-performing carbonated-soft-drink brands, ranking fourth behind Coke, Diet Coke and Pepsi, according to Beverage Digest. But sales in certain parts of the country are much weaker than the national average, making national TV buys an intriguing move. Mtn Dew has a 5.2% supermarket share nationally, according to Beverage Digest. But in New York, the country's largest market, its share is just 2.6%. In Miami, the brand has a 1.9% share; in Boston, 2.5%.

"If they could take some key markets, mainly in the East, and bring the share up even a bit closer to the national average, they could get some nice performance from the brand," said John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest. "But that could take years to do." Last year, Mtn Dew spent $19.5 million on TV, according to Kantar Media. Doubling that will put the brand at spending levels not seen since 2007.

With the increased budget, Mtn Dew will be rethinking its media mix. A year ago, 23% of the TV budget was allocated to national buys, but that is growing to 40%. Fox will be the main beneficiary, with the brand planning to buy shows such as "The Simpsons" and "Bob's Burgers." Cable buys include ESPN and FX. OMD handles media buying.

At the Beverage Digest Future Smarts conference in December, CEO-PepsiCo Americas Beverages Al Carey said he believes it's possible to grow brands within the beleaguered carbonated-soft-drink category, citing Mtn Dew and Diet Mtn Dew.

The launch spot for the campaign features pro skaters and snowboarders, as well as race-car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., country singer Jason Aldean and rapper Lil Wayne. It's the type of work not seen from Mtn Dew in several years.

Hug Me: Coca-Cola Introduces Gesture Based Marketing in Singapore

How do you translate Coca-Cola into Singaporean English? How about, “Hug Me”? That’s the premise of a new marketing campaign that Coke has launched in Singapore. But what makes this newsworthy, at least for me, is that the message is being sealed with a gesture.

A Coke vending machine was installed overnight at the National University of Singapore. It looks like a fairly ordinary machine, in the brand’s iconic red and white. But instead of it’s logo, this machine says “Hug Me,” in the logo font. The marketer is using the license afforded by the infamous spoof logo t-shirts to spoof themselves. And instead of money, this machine responds only to the currency of hugs. Specifically, you have to squeeze the sides of the soda dispenser in a specific way to make a free Coke come out.

In a world where Facebook likes and photo comments are considered “social gestures,” manipulating consumers to make specific gestures is top-of-mind for marketers today. This campaign, created by Ogilvy & Mather, is an incredibly overt version of this trope.

Positioning this stunt at a university is a smart move in Singapore, where public signs of affection have long been discouraged, but are on the rise among the young. Coke is positioning itself as a non-threatening ally to affection demonstrating youth.

This is an example where the value to pain ratio is astronomically high. People would do a lot more for a Coke than give a hug, along the lines of the old cigarette slogan, “I’d walk a mile for a Camel.” But the payoff is high for Coke as well, since things experienced through multi-modal learning are more memorable than visual and/or auditory stimulation alone.

In a statement as part of the company’s ‘Open Happiness’ campaign, Leonardo O’Grady, ASEAN IMC Director, The Coca Cola Company, explained that: “Happiness is contagious. The Coca Cola Hug Machine is a simple idea to spread some happiness. Our strategy is to deliver doses of happiness in an unexpected, innovative way to engage not only the people present, but the audience at large.” In other words, they hope it goes viral throughout Asia leading to outbreaks of random hugging, all with the Coca-Cola brand in mind.

Diet Coke Unveils Madonna-Inspired Cans, Designed By John Paul Gaultier

Name of Company/Competitor: Diet Coke

Name of Campaign/Spot: John Paul Gaultier

Date Launched: 4/12/12

Description: Introducing new Diet Coke bottles designed by John Paul Gaultier.

Media Details: TV & Print

Dr Pepper debuts new Avengers Collectors' Cans

Dr Pepper has partnered with Marvel Entertainment for a multiplatform campaign centered around a series of eight collectible cans featuring superhero characters from “Marvel’s The Avengers.”

A movie of that name starring Robert Downey, Jr., from Marvel Studios and Paramount Pictures, is set for release on May 4.

The collectible cans are available for a limited time in stores nationwide.

Dr Pepper is also offering a free, custom game on DrPepper.com, “Skrull Takedown,” which enables fans to emulate their favorite Avengers characters (as they appear in a New Avengers comic book) and fight with the alien-shapeshifter Skrulls. Fans can share their scores and challenge friends to join in on the action via Twitter and Facebook.

A new, 30-second TV spot is supporting the tie-ins. The playful ad -- which shows a group of young men and women suddenly revealing themselves as superheroes to go after a purse-snatcher -- includes a cameo by Stan Lee, the legendary comic book writer, producer and television personality who was for a time president, then publisher, of Marvel Comics.

The TV spot, which also includes a promotion for the movie, can be viewed on Dr Pepper’s YouTube channel.

The brand’s tie-ins are designed to provide fans with an “Avengers” experience that they “can’t get anywhere else,” said Dave Fleming, Dr Pepper’s director of marketing.

In a separate, current Dr Pepper promotion, specially marked 20-ounce bottles of Dr Pepper, Diet Dr Pepper and Dr Pepper Cherry and Diet Cherry have codes under their caps that can be entered on the brand’s site for a chance to win an Xbox 360. Participants need to sign in using their Dr Pepper accounts or social logins to determine if they have won.

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AriZona tees up Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Lemonade

Though one has to wonder how many of today’s youth think that legendary golfer Arnold Palmer was named after the lemonade/tea combo that he himself made famous, it certainly won’t be an issue for his former rival and protégé, Jack Nicklaus, who, like Palmer, has partnered with AriZona to launch a new beverage line.

Last week, AriZona – quietly and without much fanfare – introduced Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Lemonade, and it appears that the company may be prepping for a much larger launch later this month.

As in its relationship with Palmer, AriZona appears to be licensing the name the brand name “Jack Nicklaus Golden Bear Lemonade” from Nicklaus himself, who owns the trademark through Nicklaus Companies, LLC, according to a recent filing with the US Patent and Trademark Office. The trademark covers lemonade as well alcoholic flavored malt coolers, undoubtedly following in the path of the Arnold Palmer Hard line. The Golden Bear line debuted with three flavors: Strawberry, Mango, and Honey with Ginseng.

AriZona has launched an official Facebook page for the new line and made a few mentions of the brand on its Twitter account, noting that the lemonades are currently distributed in Quick Chek, Race Trac, and Sheetz convenience stores, with “many more locations to come.”  Nevertheless, the company is apparently keeping the lid on a wide scale media blitz, possibly until after a rumored televised announcement of the launch by Nicklaus himself.

With two of the three greatest golfers of all time now in its stable, could a Tiger Woods Tea be far behind for AriZona? Or our favorite – a Craig Stadler soda?

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Paula Patton Serves Up Pepsi Next in LA

Yesterday Paula Patton, actress and star of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, served up first sips of new Pepsi NEXT, fueling the “Drink it to Believe it” momentum on the West Coast following actress Eva Longoria’s New York appearance on Friday, April 6.

Lucky cola lovers at The Grove in Los Angeles received their first taste of Pepsi NEXT straight from Patton who was on-hand to distribute the first cola to deliver real cola taste with 60% less sugar than Pepsi-Cola.

“Tasting is believing when it comes to new Pepsi NEXT,” said Patton. “Yesterday we turned cola fans into believers! I’m so excited there is finally something with an amazing taste and 60% less sugar.”

Cola lovers who weren’t in Los Angeles yesterday can visit select Walmart Supercenter stores for a risk-free taste of Pepsi NEXT. From now through the end of April, Pepsi NEXT will be handing out free samples at 800 Walmart Supercenter stores and across 40 cities. You can also “try it” online with the Internet Taste Test, a unique experience on www.facebook.com/pepsinext that invites cola lovers to opt-in for a chance to watch themselves “taste” new Pepsi NEXT through the power and humor of improv.

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Dr Pepper takes over Avengers!

Name of Company/Competitor: Dr Pepper

Name of Campaign/Spot: One of a Kind Avengers

Date Launched: 4/9/12

Description: Your favorite soda and superheroes are teaming up to give you a One of a Kind summer. Cameo with comic book legend, Stan Lee.

Media Details: TV

Facebook buys Instagram for $1 billion

Facebook is about to get filtered.

The social network announced Monday that it is buying photo-sharing service Instagram, a two year-old San Francisco-based company that has attracted more than 30 million users, for $1 billion in a cash and stock deal.

In an update posted on his Facebook profile, Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained that the "talented team" at Instagram will be joining Facebook to help the social network add new features to its photo-sharing offerings. Zuckerberg noted Facebook is "committed to building and growing Instagram independently," a sentiment Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom echoed in his own post about the deal.

For example, Instagram users will continue to have the ability to share photos to other social networking sites besides Facebook (and also abstain from sharing Instagram photos with Facebook), and will be able to keep their Instagram follower lists distinct from their Facebook friend groups, Zuckerberg wrote.

Still, the deal marks an attempt by Facebook to maintain dominance in an area that has proved one of its stickiest and most popular features: photo sharing. At the end of last year, Facebook users were uploading more than 250 million photos a day, on average, according to Facebook's filing with the SEC.

Instagram has, in just two short years, developed an offering that has proved attractive and compelling to a diverse group of users, and Facebook no doubt hopes to capitalize on the photo sharing app's expertise.

"For years, we've focused on building the best experience for sharing photos with your friends and family," the Facebook CEO explained. "Now, we'll be able to work even more closely with the Instagram team to also offer the best experiences for sharing beautiful mobile photos with people based on your interests."

Zuckerberg also wrote, "We will try to learn from Instagram's experience to build similar features into our other products. At the same time, we will try to help Instagram continue to grow by using Facebook's strong engineering team and infrastructure."

Zuckerberg noted that the deal is an exceptional one for Facebook given the size of Instagram's userbase.

"This is an important milestone for Facebook because it's the first time we've ever acquired a product and company with so many users," Zuckerberg wrote. "We don't plan on doing many more of these, if any at all. But providing the best photo sharing experience is one reason why so many people love Facebook and we knew it would be worth bringing these two companies together."

Instagram, which was founded in 2010, has 13 employees. Systrom wrote in a blog post that he is "psyched" to be joining Facebook.

"It’s important to be clear that Instagram is not going away," he said. "We’ll be working with Facebook to evolve Instagram and build the network. We’ll continue to add new features to the product and find new ways to create a better mobile photos experience."

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Dr Pepper TEN's Explosive New Commercial - Backyard

Name of Company/Competitor: Dr Pepper Ten

Name of Campaign/Spot: Backyard

Date Launched: 4/2/12

Description: What happens in the shed? Find out here and grab a Dr Pepper TEN while you're at it.

Media Details: TV

Pepsi Next gets comedians to impersonate you based on your facebook profile

Pepsi is taking Facebook-based narcissism to a new level with a campaign that gets comics to impersonate you based on your profile on the social network.
The beverage giant has linked with longtime partner Funny Or Die for a program that will choose consumers for an online taste test for Pepsi Next. Since users can’t actually taste the cola online, Pepsi has opted for the next-best thing: comedians attempting to simulate you will try the drink.

Such fans will opt in to be chosen. “We’ll analyze their Facebook persona,” says Shiv Singh, head of digital for PepsiCo Beverages. “It will be very close to who they actually are. We have improv comedians on standby.” The shoot will take place in Los Angeles over five days, using four simultaneous sound stages and 12 Funny or Die improv comedians. The fan videos will then be edited and posted back to selected users within approximately 24 hours of the shoot.

To give a taste of how the program will work, Pepsi, Funny Or Die and ad agency partner The Barbarian Group have created three videos. The video above is an explanation of the program by comedian Rob Riggle. The two below goof on Gary Vaynerchuk, the YouTube-based wine expert and Internet meme Scumbag Steve.

Pepsi Next, a mid-calorie soda with 60% less sugar than Pepsi’s flagship beverage, is being released this spring with distribution in Walmart and national sampling. The Facebook program combines the thinking behind programs like Intel’s “What About Me?” app and Old Spice’s 2010 “Responses” campaign to create what the brand hopes will be a viral phenomenon.

What do you think? Will you try the program? Will it get you to try Pepsi’s new soda? Sound off in the comments.

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Coca-Cola provides insight on social media users

Not all social web users are created equally, according to the latest installment of a new study conducted by the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council (CCRC), “Untangling the Social Web: Insights for Users, Brands and Retailers.”

The report reveals the inside scoop on four categories of users including their style, the manner in which they interact and their influence as shoppers. Insights into “bonders,” “sharers,” “professionals” and “creators” can help retailers more effectively leverage social media for strategic business purposes.

• Bonders, as their name suggests, love forming groups and building relationships. They were the fastest adapters to social networking and today are the most likely to use mobile devices to keep in touch with their networks no matter where or what they are doing.

• Sharers love spreading the word on what they are doing including their shopping patterns. This group loves talking about their experiences, which makes them extra influential when it comes to spreading the word about products, services and stores.

• Professionals use the web to build their network for both personal and work issues. They are a little more careful with their posts, but still like to offer and spread their opinions in a timely fashion. Their work-life balance reflects itself in the social web, as they are just as likely to use professional sites like LinkedIn as Facebook and Twitter.

• Creators use the social web to launch their new ideas and express their eclectic thoughts on a variety of topics. They post content, watch videos, read blogs and more in their daily path through the web.

Additional details on the social using habits of all four groups came through loud in clear in interviews conducted by The Integer Group, the Colorado-based group running this new study for the Council.

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Pepsi Next "Baby"

Name of Company/Competitor: Pepsi Next

Name of Campaign/Spot: Baby

Date Launched: 3/12/12

Description: Baby tries to impress parents who are too preoccupied loving Pepsi Next

Media Details: TV