Mountain Dew, Doritos Play with Xbox

Purchase, N.Y. — Eight years after joining with Microsoft to support the launch of the Xbox 360 video game console, PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew renewed its partnership with the developer in 2013 to leverage the November release of the Xbox One console. This time, PepsiCo family member Doritos joined the campaign.Modeling the effort after the 2005 campaign in which PepsiCo gave away consoles every 10 minutes during a nine-week period, the CPG giant launched an “Every 2 Minutes” promotion that awarded Xbox One consoles every two minutes during nightly auctions – from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. EST, Nov. 5 through Dec. 9.Registered consumers bid on the consoles through a promotional website (Every2minutes.com) with points they accumulated by entering codes from the 650 million specially marked packages of Mountain Dew and Doritos that were circulated. Participants could also use their points to purchase related merchandise through Jan. 7, 2014.Todd Kaplan, director of brand marketing for Mountain Dew, says no special research or insights were necessary for this campaign since the brand has a long and successful history targeting video gamers. “We’ve launched partnerships with some of the biggest [game] titles and with Xbox, and we’ve done a range of programs with Doritos as well, so this is a core platform for us. This year, we wanted to do something bigger than we’ve ever done.”The promotion drove shoppers to 50,000 retail locations, with many retailers receiving overlays to the national program. For example, at 7-Eleven a sweepstakes open only to members of the retailer’s Slurpee Rewards loyalty program awarded consoles daily in addition to various instant-win prizes. The retailer also offered a limited-edition “cherry citrus” Slurpee version of Mountain Dew Game Fuel, a product PepsiCo trots out occasionally as part of its efforts to connect more overtly with video gamers. Elsewhere:Dollar General made Xbox One consoles available through the TheDewGeneralStore.com.Speedway offered 30 consoles exclusively to its customers.Walgreens offered sweepstakes entry codes to shoppers who purchased $5 worth of Mountain Dew.Target used endcaps to promote auctions that were held every 15 minutes on Fridays for shoppers who bought any two qualifying products.Kaplan says the campaign would ultimately be judged by overall sales for both Mountain Dew and Doritos, as well as by consumer engagement metrics – “Looking at how consumers are engaging with the website, how they’re leveraging social media to discuss it,” he says. “We’re always tuned into our Millennial consumers, what they’re saying; understanding what the buzz is online.”The brands teased the national campaign during the summer at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles before officially launching it on Labor Day weekend at a Penny Arcade Expo event in Seattle. Attendees at the latter show could download a mobile app and scan codes throughout the event to use during an auction that distributed consoles before they were available to the public. Kaplan says it was “a great way for us to engage the core gamer community – to announce at a big event with a fully integrated immersive program leveraging digital, and gamifying it as well.”Retail activation began in October. On Black Friday, auctions were held for 24 hours instead of only during the five-hour window.

Mountain Dew, Doritos Play with Xbox

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