Following its birth as an exclusive Taco Bell flavor in 2004, Mountain Dew Baja Blast quickly became one of the restaurant's most in-demand fountain beverages. For years, DEW heard pleas from fans, begging that Baja Blast be sold at retail. In 2014, DEW wanted to grant that wish to Baja Blast fans with a limited time offer that would deliver the good news to fans at scale and reward their devotion.
Mountain Dew Baja Blast's LTO retail release was informed and magnified by fan fever on social channels. The brand launched Snapchat on April Fools' Day, leading fans to question whether something was afoot. To initiate buzz nationally, DEW used Twitter search to comb through an archive of 30,000 Baja Blast mentions, selecting 500 of the most ardent product requests to receive 1:1 replies. The campaign was sustained by a "Baja or Bust" video and app with views and downloads driven by Facebook and Twitter. The consistent broadcast of original social content, rich media, and real-time experience sustained the campaign and encouraged sales.
Towards the end of the summer, Mountain Dew utilized the brand new Twitter Call Card, an easy to swallow click-to-call icon that allowed fans to call a phone number with a voice recording by Dew influencer and pro skateboarder Paul Rodriguez (P-Rod). To enter to win one of the last 10 cases of Mountain Dew Baja Blast, users left voice messages.
Baja Blast trended as one of Twitter's most talked-about subjects, twice.
In April 2014, Mountain Dew announced that, for the first time, Mountain Dew Baja Blast, a drink formulated for and available only at Taco Bell restaurants, would be available for a limited time in bottles and cans. For this significant launch, Mountain Dew engaged novice sippers and die hard drinkers to guzzle-- stimulating sales and selling out 100% of the product during a LTO period.
Our strategy was fan-tastic. Engage the fiercely loyal Baja Blast fan base to sell out soda and launch Mountain Dew's branded Snapchat account. We would guarantee sell through and build a new DEW community by activating fans as brand ambassadors, amplifying the passion and love that already existed amongst Baja Blast's most vocal fiends.
Baja Blast inaugurated Mountain Dew's Snapchat on April 1st with more than 3,200 views in 24 hours and caused fans to wonder if their dreams could come true. Original creative content continued to engage fans in anticipation of the drink's May 5th, 2014 retail launch, leveraging DEW's audience for skyrocketing sales. Also, fans were able to download and play the "Baja or Bust" mobile gaming app, prompting fans to enter under-the-cap codes to unlock in-game upgrades and enter for a chance to win exclusive prizes. From May 21st to May 31st, mobile app install ads for "Baja or Bust" on Facebook garnered 115,490 clicks and 33,585 app installs.
Mountain Dew thrilled its most avid fans by using Twitter's search feature to comb through the past 5 years of tweets , especially those mentioning Baja Blast and requesting the product in bottles and cans, and hand-selected the 500 most ardent product requests. DEW responded to devotees individually, addressing fan's requests with personalized comments. The first public tweet was DEW's most retweeted of the year, earning 6,800+ retweets in three days, which is 3,860% above brand average. Fans proudly shared these interactions across Twitter as badges of pride.
"Baja Blast from the Past" activation garnered the most retweets on a piece of content in 2014 and much gratitude from DEW Nation. These tweets showed that the brand listened to fans and consumers, and answered their call for a product-- literally. Baja Blast trended as one of Twitter's most talked-about subjects, visible to all U.S. users in a list at the top of their feeds, twice.
Over the course of the campaign, Mountain Dew garnered 8,313 retweets, 152% higher than the original KPI of 5,475. We also created and shared micro-content on all social channels. The activations drove organic growth and sent shock waves through DEW's platforms and community.
Towards the end of the summer, Mountain Dew utilized the brand new Twitter Call Card feature, an easy to swallow click-to-call icon for mobile devices. Rather than connecting to customer service as was intended for this feature, clicking on said button automatically called a phone number with a voice recording by DEW influencer and pro skateboarder Paul Rodriguez, prompting fans for reasons why they should be awarded one of the final cases of the drink. In DEW world, P-Rod is a god, and fans had direct access to leave a message for their idol, creating a dialogue between icon, fan, and brand. To enter to win one of 10 remaining cases of Mountain Dew Baja Blast, users left thousands of unique voice messages, ranging from serious pleas to surreal performances. Phone calls had a 94% completion rate with 3,362 voicemails left on 3,568 completed calls. 78% of these voicemails lasted longer than 30 seconds.The summer season advanced the blazing campaign, providing millennial males long, hot days to enjoy and share the super cool energy of Baja Blast on DEW's social channels.
