Mountain Dew Slecting New Creative Case Solution

Mountain Dew is predominantly marketed to consumers in the age bracket of 14-36 years old who are characterized by the urge to create an association with activities like extreme sports, hip hop culture and being a daredevil. The brand persona of Mountain Dew stands for the same characteristics of being enthusiastic, a risk-taker and vibrant. The tangible attributes of the brand – for instance, color, packaging, and taste – are deliberately kept distinct from other colas to support the stories narrated in advertising communication of the brand. Perhaps the most important aspect of communication of this brand is the name ‘Mountain Dew’. The term ‘Mountain Dew’ itself communicates ruggedness, which creates an association with terrains and mists. The red color of the brand logo communicates aggression and passion, while the letter ‘M’ and ‘W’ are kept very large in the logo to reinforce the above-mentioned imagery.

The story told by the brand to its target market is a variation of different adventurous scenarios that are communicated in a light-hearted comical manner. Initial advertisements exhibited youth engaged in bungee jumping and are not afraid to take risks. A critical component of these communications is the fact that since these young people are not afraid to encounter risks – rather their tendency to thrive on risks – makes them ‘cool’. The storyboards of all advertisements center around the thought that success belongs to those individuals who are willing to overcome their fears and Mountain Dew helps to attain that state. Producers chose to communicate a variation of the extreme sports scenarios by setting scenarios of crossing a raging river on boats, cycling on the slope of mountain terrains and sky riding. The key factors in all storyboards of Mountain Dew’s advertisements are the fact that it retained its essence of association with adventure.

2. Develop a set of criteria that you will use to choose the next generation of creative.

For the next generation of Mountain Dew’s creative to be successful in meeting the objectives of increasing sales and market share, it must adhere to certain key criteria. Some of these criteria relate to emerging trends of the brand while others pertain to the fundamentals of advertising discipline.

1. Audience 

The new creatives of Mountain Dew communication must match with the emerging audience of the brand. Traditionally, the brand has been targeted towards youth, however, this restricted growth of the brand in the context of increasing competition from health drinks and energy drinks. The new creatives must be suitable for a wider target audience comprising of adults aged above forty years, housewives and professionals.

2. Media

The advertising creatives must be applicable to a range of media – most important emerging media which were not as significant when initial campaigns for the brand were launched. The creative must have the ability to covers forms of interactive communication of emerging internet advertising, mainstream media of Superbowl which has a highly diversified audience, print media and direct communication channels to the target market. The creative should be able to capture attention, hold attention, and get the message across in all forms of media.

3. Adaptability to Sponsorships

For Mountain Dew, sports sponsorships have been a highly important vehicle for promotion. Sport has a very positive image for a brand like Mountain Dew, so the creatives of the new campaign must contain adaptability to be used for sponsorships of mainstream sports, extreme sports, etc. Sine, the principles of Integrated Marketing Communication state that the messages put across through different channels must be consistent, therefore, the same advertising campaign should be adapted to sponsorships.

4. Communicate Brand Essence 

It is essential that creatives of the advertisement must contain integral components of Mountain Dew’s brand of individualism, wellness, fitness, vitality and competitive spirit. Even the best creatives of the brand will fail if they do not communicate vital brand propositions of Mountain Dew.

5. Impact 

The creatives must be able to create an impact by grabbing the attention of the audience and be able to break the clutter. These criteria are essential because carbonated drinks have become a highly competitive category in terms of vying for the attention of the target audience. The creatives must contain some ‘shock-value’ to capture the attention of the target audience from the very start.

6. Cost-Effective 

The creatives must be cost-effective in terms of execution and media placement. In fact, the cost associated with media is must more important because it is a recursive cost. For this reason, the creatives must be able to communicate the message in short time duration for television campaigns and must be effective for other media, as well.