Dr Pepper Joins the Cola Color War

Plano, Texas -- Bubbling up this month is the first flavor extension to the Dr Pepper line in the 117-year history of the brand -- Red Fusion. Dr Pepper/Seven Up Inc. launches the bright red soda at a time when the beverage category has been overflowing with colorful flavor extensions. SoBe launched Mr. Green. Pepsi had major success with Code Red and is rolling out Pepsi Blue this summer. Coca-Cola introduced Vanilla Coke."We felt we needed to be there to meet the challenges of innovation in the category," says Suzy Carroll, director of brand marketing for Dr Pepper. "We looked at volume, and all of the growth in the soft drink category came from innovation last year. We felt like we were missing the boat. We also felt like consumers are seeking variety and we wanted to meet that challenge."Like Dr Pepper, Red Fusion can't be classified under one flavor. Carroll says it has that "mysterious, undefined flavor" of Dr Pepper but with more going on. The original Dr Pepper features flavors of 23 fruits and spices.Dr Pepper/Seven Up began working on its new drink last September by running tests and organizing focus groups to help determine the drink's name, packaging and flavor profile. The packaging is youthful, fun, a little irreverent and exciting, Carroll says. As for the soda's color, "The red was deliberate," she says. "We didn't want it to be an artificial red that conveyed bubble gum or something that was too sweet or too syrupy."The marketing support is dependent on P-O-P, with "buy 1 get 1 free" coupons distributed through static clings on cold vaults, pole signs and cooler barrels. The P-O-P features bold graphics and a 3-D look to grab consumers, Carroll says."We're looking at 100% bottler participation in this brand. The P-O-P will follow that, so it should be big," Carroll says. Television spots, radio tags and outdoor advertising also support the launch. Padgett Printing, Dallas, and Rand Graphics, Wichita, Kan., produced the P-O-P.While testing, Carroll found that consumers who were adverse to Dr Pepper before liked the taste of Red Fusion. "We got out of the heartland and did some research where Dr Pepper isn't as developed -- like in Washington D.C. and even L.A. We're also targeting an ethnic consumer with this, African Americans and Hispanics, and this product delivered on both of those objectives as well."

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