SoBe Lizard Slinks Into Carbonated Territory

Norwalk, Conn. -- He's been seen snowboarding, surfing, skateboarding and otherwise gettin' wild. Now Mr. Green, South Beach Beverage Co.'s iconic lizard who's appeared on all of the SoBe drink bottles, has been transformed into "a next generation cyber lizard" for the rollout of the company's first carbonated soda, explains Russ Findlay, senior marketing manager.Mr. Green soda contains ginseng and is colored a rich, earthy green. "The product name is Mr. Green, there's a big green lizard on the front of the bottle, and the bottle is green. Having the product be any other color just wouldn't be SoBe," Findlay says.The energy soda hit stores in late April supported by a host of P-O-P spotlighting an intimidating image of Mr. Green. "The P-O-P is edgy and aggressive but not alienating," Findlay says. "The product is really important, but the SoBe lizard is such a powerful icon, we decided to feature both in order to break through conventional P-O-P design."The P-O-P will remain in-store through the summer and includes two paperboard pole toppers, paperboard shelf talkers, vinyl static clings for cooler doors, display banners, Coroplast outdoor pole signs, vending arrows, push/pull door stickers and cold barrels for convenience stores and gas marts. Companies supplying the P-O-P materials included Iowa Rotocast Plastics, Decorah, Iowa, and Display Industries, Smryna, Ga.Findlay would not release the size of the production runs on the materials, but he did reveal that a second run is already underway. He says the reactions from retailers and consumers have been very positive. "We've barely launched in 20-ounce and 1-liter bottles and we've already received photos of 200-plus case displays of 20-ounce Mr. Green in large format stores with great P-O-P signage."The in-store displays rolled out to all classes of trade across the nation including supermarkets, mass merchants, c-stores, gas stations, contract feeders and vending. Findlay says bottlers order the P-O-P from an internal Web site and the materials are not contingent on the quantity of product a retailer purchases.The P-O-P and soda is targeted to 13- to 29-year-old soft drink consumers. "The P-O-P highlights the edgy, unconventional brand attitude, borrowing from the successful SoBe base brand," Findlay says. The campaign ties in with all other marketing elements including radio, on-line and product sampling via the tagline "Release the Green."

SoBe Lizard Slinks Into Carbonated Territory

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