Katie Hastings Pure Virgin Spring Water is caught up in a legal battle over the name of her branded bottled water.
In a recent interview she has confirmed the legal action with Tim of ohbrother.com.au
I have extracted the small part on what Katie had to say in the interview on the matter.
Here it is a smart technique of leveraging the negative into a positive, any news is good news, publicity gets your brand name noticed and thats what the people of blow are capitalising on.
The guerilla marketing assault on PRNewswire.
LAS VEGAS, July 10 /PRNewswire/ — A disturbing trend in beverage marketing has emerged as start-up companies competing for market share increasingly rely upon shock marketing tactics to gain exposure.
Particularly troubling is the potential glamorization of the drug culture by some energy drink companies.
Marketed with names like Cocaine and Blow, these companies cross the line with aggressive marketing tactics to promote their brands and grab consumer attention.
Major drink competitors like Red Bull, Rock Star, and Monster control multi-million dollar marketing budgets making it tough for a new company to get noticed.
U.S. energy drink sales topped $6 billion in 2006, according to Goldman Sachs analyst Judy Hong, who covers the beverage industry. The most popular drink, Red Bull, reportedly generates over $1 billion in sales annually. Sales of Monster follow closely behind.
Yet the use of controversial and aggressive marketing tactics to build brand awareness is nothing new to the beverage industry.
The popular drink Mountain Dew was originally marketed as "zero proof moonshine." According to Mountain Dew's website, "the names on the bottles are intended to make the product feel like the illegally made liquor cooked up in mountain stills. In fact, the name Mountain Dew is slang for moonshine." Mountain Dew's brand strategy to align a popular drink targeted to youth with alcohol was certainly aggressive in the seventies but seems tame by current marketing standards.
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration successfully halted sales of the Cocaine energy drink marketed by Redux Beverages. The FDA claimed that Cocaine's positioning as "the legal alternative" to an illicit street drug violated federal regulations.
Not to be outdone, an even more aggressive product called Blow emerged within days of Cocaine's demise. Blow is a white powder packaged in a clear vial that is meant to be mixed into a beverage. According to the company's website, it contains an astonishing 240 milligrams of caffeine and 2,000 milligrams of Taurine.
Sue Rusche, president of the parental watchdog group National Families in Action, recently became aware of Blow and launched an email campaign against the product. "It's just disgusting," she remarked after viewing the company's website at http://www.iloveblow.com/. "Can you spell exploitation of children?"
"Ms. Rusche really needs to find a hobby," says Blow founder Logan Gola. "Our product is sexy, edgy and fun but also very tongue-in-cheek. She could really use some Blow."
Contact: Matt Young iloveblow.com matt@iloveblow.com
This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit http://www.ereleases.com/. iloveblow.com
CONTACT: Matt Young of iloveblow.com, matt@iloveblow.com
Web site: http://www.iloveblow.com/
——ends——-
Utilizes street level non-traditional tactics to create awareness and ‘buzz’.
Tactics of Sidewalk chalking include
* Graffiti Murals * Branded Sticker and Tattoo Distribution * BreakDance / DJ Street Promotion Team * Automobile flyering * Human advertising * Non-traditional sample distribution * Flyer Distribution * Traditional or vinyl cling postering * projection advertising
Health Cola arrives in Australia.
You better believe it, I was fortunate enough to get some samples from Alejandro Licea the Brand Manager of Health Cola, this is one fine tasting cola, lightly carbonated with the most exquisite taste of real kola nuts. You would be forgiven to compare it to a micro brewed beverage. This drink is an all natural masterpiece that combines well with authentic Portuguese peri peri chicken, my side of life keeps on getting better.
Thank you Alejandro, everyone who tasted it are looking forward to it being available in Australia.
The Portuguese reign supreme in the 2007 Beverage Innovation Awards, hard to believe but I doubt it will ever be repeated again. Who knows maybe my surrogate mother country is on the innovation highway to heaven.
2007 beverage innovation Awards
Best Overall Concept
1st Compal - essencial (Portugal)
A google translated link from a Portuguese website outlining the benefits.
I strongly recommend downloading the Supplement that features all entrants to the 2007 beverage innovation awards from the beverage-innovation.com download area. You will be able to download files and reports covering a range of topics, including podcasts, surveys, media kits and feature schedules.
An honorable mention goes out to Nadia the winner of the Nudie addict competition, her picture is featured in the supplement and has been seen by the world wide beverage industry.
Nudie drinks are now stocked in over 6,000 outlets round Australia. Its “Search for the biggest Nudie Addict”campaign linked retailers and consumers through spot prizes for having nudie products in the fridge at home ortexting codes visible on the label once consumed. A series
of five limited edition characters were created with a distinctive purple lid for the promotion.
I was born in Angola, Africa and I am happy to see that African food ingredients are being implemented and considered for beverage formulations.
The upcoming Institute of Food Technologists Expo in Chicago highlights the newest Afro flavours.
Baobab is pretty well unheard of in new product applications but things are looking up for a fruit called the "upside-down" fruit.
Marula is another that is well known in South Africa due to its use in the popular Amarula Cream liqueur. Its health benefits are now also being marketed, most recently in Austria as Roemerquelle Emotion Marula Flavoured Water (Römerquelle Coca-Cola Beverage of Austria)
Apart from baobab and marula, a bright future is predicted for honeybush, buchu, prickly pear (a noxious weed here but nonetheless sold at some greengrocers) and rooibos.
Source: foodweek.com.au
Ning
(which means “peace” in Chinese, in case you were wondering) currently provides by a wide margin the best platform for setting up fully functional and visually appealing social networks from scratch. While Ning attempts to provide essentially the same out-of-the-box service as GoingOn, Me.com, PeopleAggregator, and ONEsite, none of its competitors can yet match the professionalism of its product.
The company’s superior execution has so far earned it 76,000 hosted networks (although, browse Ning’s list of “popular” networks and one gets the strong sense that the vast majority of these networks were set up by tire kickers and promptly abandoned).
The standard Ning package allows affiliates to build at no cost an ad-supported network with all of the features that they offer. This entails a point-and-click setup process in which an affiliate chooses a theme, tweaks appearances, and loads features such as photos, videos, groups, and blogging. Within minutes, the affiliate has created an impressive, fully-featured (albeit rather cookie-cutter) network that is ready to accept its first batch of members, which can be invited by email or Ning ID.
For most affiliates, the ease in which you can set up a solid network will be the selling point. However, Ning also has offerings for more advanced affiliates that allow networks to partially break out of the standard Ning format. Affiliates can disable ads or run their own ads for $20 per month, and they can mask their networks’ URLs for only $5 per month. Furthermore, they have access to Ning’s comprehensive Developer Documentation and an API for when they desire advanced customization. Effectively, their API allows developers to take the standard Ning network and retool it, whereas KickApps (discussed below) encourages advanced customization by providing developers with a bare foundation on which to build.
While the Ning platform can be made almost entirely invisible by removing the top Ning toolbar and masking the URL, all networks hosted by Ning share the same user base. When a user joins your Ning network as a member, he or she obtains a Ning ID that works with all other Ning networks. On the one hand, this system facilitates the process by which users sign up for more than one network. On the other, it serves as a constant reminder that the network is actually hosted by a white label social networking platform. Many affiliates will not mind this system at all, but others who want to completely brand their community will consider this a detraction.
Source : www.techcrunch.com
If your in the non alcoholic beverage industry and would like to join me here is the url.
Diet Coke Propaganda has inspired me to create a diet coke film and enter it in the competition.
Here is the spin from the film doctors hired by coke.
Link: The short film you submit needs to answer this brief.
Theme: ENERGY
Having a diet Coke break means you get to take time out, re-energise and of course enjoy a diet Coke. At the moment you also have the chance to view a great short film to make your diet Coke break even more enjoyable!
Your short film needs to be inspired by this and convey an energy that will make viewers bounce back into their day.
Tone: Humorous / Entertaining / Feel Good / Uplifting / Spirited
Mandatory: The film must portray diet Coke somewhere; it could be portrayed on a bottle, t-shirt, cap, truck, billboard etc provided that the visual image of the diet Coke appears in the short film.
TOP TEN FILMMAKING TIPS - TROPFEST WINNER STEVE BAKER
1. More often than not, the story/idea should always be the most important part
of your film. If you’re an amateur filmmaker you probably won’t have a budget.
So what! If your idea is great, and you have something to say, it’ll shine through.
2. Trust your initial instincts. It’s amazing how many times the first thing you think of
will end up being the best of the bunch.
3. Know your audience… For example, my diet Coke film is dedicated to all
the bored and frustrated workers out there who need a laugh during the day.
Particularly those stuck in a cubicle!
4. Show up prepared for anything to happen… If a UFO crash lands in the middle
of your set and aliens jump out abducting half of your crew, it should come as no
surprise! (Actually if that does happen, keep filming!)
5. Enjoy yourself. It’ll rub off on your cast and crew. Filmmaking doesn’t have to be
as serious as some would have you believe.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, it’s a great way to learn. If you’re fortunate
enough to work with really talented people that have more experience, use
that knowledge.
7. Catering, catering, and more catering… A fatter crew is usually a slightly
happier crew.
8. Let your actors surprise you… When making a film, there’s few things more
satisfying than discovering an unplanned moment of magic that works.
9. Always be prepared for criticism. It’s impossible to make a film that absolutely
everyone is going to love. Try not to take it personally, learn from it and move on.
10. Don’t be afraid to make a film that you want to see!
