• by Aaron Baar , June 8, 2009

Mountain Dew continues its efforts in wooing the gaming community this year, introducing two flavors tied into the popular (to the tune of 11.5 million players worldwide) online role-playing game, "World of Warcraft."

"We felt really good about tapping into their audience," Marc Hanson, marketing manager for Mountain Dew, tells Marketing Daily. "It's a rich and active base that is very engaged with [the game's] immersive storytelling."

The limited-edition line extension, Mtn Dew Game Fuel, will feature flavors Horde Red and Alliance Blue, representing the opposing factions of the subscription-based game. Each flavor's product packaging will include images of the iconic characters from each faction.

As part of the promotion, PepsiCo has teamed with WoW creator Blizzard Entertainment to offer a promotion in-game "battlebot" that can be downloaded by players in a microsite off the main www.warcraft.com site (the microsite will also offer a 14-day trial of the game, as well.) In addition, PepsiCo will launch a "Choose Your Side "promotion, in which it will give away a prize (ranging from computers, game peripherals and Game Fuel branded merchandise) every 15 minutes all summer.

"It was designed around creating frequency and a good amount of engagement with the Web site," Hanson says. Rather than a traditional sweepstakes format, the promotion also appeals to the strategic affinity WoW gamers, Hanson says. Rather than just entering once per day, gamers earn tokens that can either be spread out among several prize options or dedicated all to one prize, thereby increasing the chances of winning.

Every summer seems to bring another gaming-themed promotion for the brand. Last year, PepsiCo ran DEWmocracy, an online game in which consumers created, campaigned and voted for a new soft drink flavor. In 2007, the brand introduced a Game Fuel flavor inspired by Microsoft's launch of "Halo 3" for Xbox 360.

"We've been committed to the space for some time," Hanson says. "It's a relevant way of connecting with our [Millennial target] consumers, and it's a great way to add value to our brand."

PepsiCo will promote the line extension with television and radio advertising from BBDO New York and digital advertising from Tribal DDB. The advertising will run throughout the summer. Hanson did not offer details, but said: "It's going to be a highly visually engaging commercial."