BRONZE: Events, Seasonal & Short-Term

Situation Analysis Despite being the best-selling non-cola soft drink in the U.S., Mountain Dew didn’t crack the top 10 in Canada. In fact, its business had declined by 80% over the preceding decade, with no ad support since 2006. The brand did have 84% awareness, but it was not very specific – people could not recall or describe Mountain Dew’s flavour. The Canadian formula also lacked the caffeine in the U.S. brand. But then Health Canada changed its regulations, and in March 2012 PepsiCo brought the U.S. formula to Canada with an intense “Citrus Charge” flavour.

Strategy & Insight Mountain Dew appealed to male teenagers, but with less than 1% market share, something special would be needed to get their attention. The new Mountain Dew would be positioned to accompany exhilarating experiences, targetting the sub-set of teenagers who want to live on the edge.

Execution A stunt featured two tall cranes that faced each other. From one hung a gigantic balloon filled with Mountain Dew, from the other hung a daredevil. He launched himself into space, straight toward the balloon. There was huge collision and a massive Mountain Dew splash. This event was filmed and used in the TV launch, and became the basis for a major engagement plan involving TV, pre-roll, YouTube and Facebook.

Results In 2011, Mountain Dew’s market share was 0.6%, but through March and July 2012 it more than doubled to 1.6%. Net revenue also more than doubled, reaching $22.2 million over the launch period.

Cause & Effect In the four months since launch, Mountain Dew’s brand health and equity scores have jumped. Facebook “Likes” indexed at 160 versus 2011, and online views came in at 1.34 million, five times the target. While this was the first year of support since 2006, advertising in prior years didn’t lift the brand. The product also improved with the addition of caffeine, but this was not the focus of the advertising. It’s reasonable to conclude advertising drove the success.

Credits:

Client: PepsiCo Beverages Canada
VP marketing: Greg Lyons
Marketing director: Ryan Collis
Brand manager: Ronit Soroksky
Assistant marketing manager: Alexandra Collins
Agency: BBDO Canada
SVP/ECDs:  Carlos Moreno, Peter Ignazi
Writer: Jason Perdue
AD: Jeff Cheung
Account director: Ariel Vinizki
Account supervisor: Tania Montemarano
VP, head of broadcast production: Beatrice Bodogh
Production company: The Cornerstore
Production co-producers: Jennie Montford/Tom Lowe
Director: Steve Hudson
Cinematographer: Marcelo Durst
Editing house: Panic & Bob
Editor: Michelle Czukar
Music/sound: RMW Music
Colour correction: Notch, Billy Ferwerda
Online: Ricochet Post