FUZE Iced Tea and Mr. T Team Up for a Flavor-charged Summer

via Market Watch

ATLANTA, Jun 23, 2015 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- This summer, FUZE is putting an end to the “jibber jabber” and launching a campaign designed to introduce people to its line of bold, flavor-charged iced teas. The brand has enlisted celebrated actor and one-time professional wrestler and bodyguard-to-the-stars, Mr. T, to be the new face of FUZE.

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The cornerstone of the campaign is an all-new 30-second spot, “Butterflyz,” starring the venerable pop culture icon in perhaps his most unique role to-date. The ad, which will debut in an extensive digital buy beginning today, also will live on FuzeBev.com.

The spot features a “butterfly” played by the larger-than-life Mr. T, floating above a park bench. With his trademark gold chains and penchant for rhymes, he talks to a woman sipping a bottle of FUZE Iced Tea and reinforces the drink’s bold taste as dozens of look-alike Mr. T butterflies gather around her. The spot concludes with a winged Mr. T bench-pressing a daisy in a humorous nod to his legendary tough persona.

The digital spot, along with a 15-second version, will appear between June and October on media properties such as YouTube, Xbox, MediaBrix and Spotify. In addition to the ad, the fully-integrated campaign includes a variety of social content, out-of-home ads, experiential sampling stops and retail activations throughout the summer.

In social media, fans who tag their photos with #fuzify and #flavorchargedtea will have a little “flavor” added using colorful visual special effects. A Mr. T-themed van will visit select markets and offer fans samples of a variety of FUZE Iced Tea flavors. They also will have a chance to win prizes like Mr. T FUZE T-shirts, temporary tattoos and, of course, FUZE branded “gold” chains.

“This is the first major, integrated campaign supporting the FUZE Iced Tea brand, and we know current and future fans are going to love what Mr. T brings to the table,” said Geoff Henry, Group Director, Tea, Coca-Cola North America. “What better way to communicate that FUZE is a bold, flavor-charged iced tea than to partner with the one and only, Mr. T?”

“You can’t have tea without Mr. T, fool,” said Mr. T, star of The A-Team and Rocky III. “FUZE Iced Tea is just like the butterfly I play in the commercial. Just when you think you know what to expect, boom! Something bold, unique and exciting happens! I pity the fool who doesn’t try it this summer!”

Fans can visit FuzeBev.com throughout the summer to enjoy and interact with fun and original content starring Mr. T, including:

• Place you or your friend in a digital headlock or toast with Mr. T and take your very own “Self-T” against a variety of flavor-charged backgrounds
• Send your friend a “bold” phone call from Mr. T, in which he expresses what he most admires about the person in a fun and light-hearted manner
• Watch weekly videos called “It’s T-Time,” which feature Mr. T providing tips on everything from throwing a flavor-charged tea party to looking “butterfly” and offering general life advice
• Download digital alarm-tone and text-tones such as “Don’t press snooze, grab a FUZE” and “Your phone’s ringing, fool!”

“Our new digital creative, combined with a season filled with marketing activations is designed to communicate – and celebrate – the great taste of bold, flavor-charged FUZE Iced Tea in a light-hearted and highly engaging way. We think people will respond enthusiastically to the campaign and look forward to reaching even greater heights throughout the summer,” said Henry.

Coca-Cola puts major marketing push behind FUZE

Coca-Cola isn't used to trailing the competition. Yet that's the position the beverage giant is in when it comes to the fast-growing ready-to-drink tea category–and it's gearing up to do something about it.

Beverage Digest

First half 2012 take-home data.

Its weapon is Fuze, the juice-and-tea brand Coca-Cola acquired in 2007 for an estimated $250 million. The marketer is planning a major first-quarter marketing campaign for Fuze, which is also getting a new-product infusion. This summer Fuze rolled out five new flavors that will be available at fountains and in a variety of packages by year's end.

Still, Coca-Cola has its work cut out for it. Fuze had less than a 0.1% share of the tea category in the first half of 2012, according to Beverage Digest. And Coca-Cola will get weaker before it gets stronger. Come New Year's Eve, Coca-Cola and Nestle's licensing agreement for Nestea will be terminated in the U.S., though the companies will continue to partner outside the U.S.

Even with that 20-year arrangement in place, Coca-Cola still lagged as the No. 4 player in the space as it focused on larger categories such as soft drinks, sports drinks and juice. When partner Nestea becomes foe in January, Coca-Cola will slide to the No. 5 slot, according to Beverage Digest figures, behind Arizona, PepsiCo, Dr Pepper Snapple Group and Nestle.

"The Fuze initiative is critically important for Coke," said John Sicher, editor and publisher of Beverage Digest. "Tea, because of its health and wellness imagery, and because it works well with diet sweeteners, has huge potential over the next five years."

According to Beverage Marketing Corp., the ready-to-drink tea category grew almost 5% last year to $5.5 billion in retail dollar sales. It's expected the category will experience rapid growth in the next few years, something Coca-Cola hopes to capitalize on.

This summer, Fuze rolled out five new flavors that will be available at fountains and in a variety of packages by year's end. And a major campaign is planned for the brand in the first quarter of 2013, though the company isn't ready to discuss details.

"We have pretty lofty awareness goals," said Chris Johnston, director-tea at Coca-Cola North America, of the company's planned investments in Fuze. "It's fair to say the tea segment is increasingly important on the radar screen of the company."

Coca-Cola's tea business in the U.S. has been weak for years, prompting the Coca-Cola system to long call for the company to address the issue. Seeing Arizona, an independent company, skyrocket to prominence in recent years has been a wakeup call for the industry, Mr. Sicher said. The 20-year-old brand now controls 40% of the ready-to-drink tea category.

Mr. Johnston admits that, from an outside perspective at least, it does appear Coca-Cola is late to the game. He argues the company has been "choiceful, patient and deliberate" when it comes to the tea category, however, highlighting the recent success of its homegrown Gold Peak brand and the acquisition of Honest Tea. Now, he says, the company is turning its attention to building the Fuze trademark.

Fuze has had a relatively small marketing budget for a Coke brand. In 2011, the brand launched its first TV campaign, boosting measured spending to $8 million from $3 million the two years prior, according to Kantar Media. Then again, Arizona's budget has hovered in the tens of thousands each of the last several years.

Fuze has already brought several agencies on board, including Ammirati and Engauge. The brand is also working with David, an agency that launched in January and is backed by Ogilvy & Mather. David is billed as a global shop born out of the creative strength of Latin America, with offices in Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.

"Unlike other brands in the segment, we'll have a stronger multicultural approach to marketing," Mr. Johnston said. He noted that there are plenty of "white spaces" in the category. He said he sees opportunities for new price points and packages. And he indicated there's an opportunity to target consumers interested in "active energy" beyond caffeine.

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