Brands put their mark on consumers' nights out

Jonesin’ for a Fiat

Last summer, Jones Soda Co. partnered with Chrysler Group LLC’s Fiat automobile brand to host a photo contest in which consumers could submit pictures of the new Fiat 500e for a chance to win the electric car as well as surf lessons with Jones-sponsored professional surfer Brianna Cope. As a result, the companies announced that Jamie Moore from San Francisco won the “Jonesin’ for a Fiat 500e” photo contest with his shot of a man skateboarding behind the car. The photo will appear on bottles of Natural Jones Soda this year. The contest was part of a larger integrated marketing campaign for Jones Soda and the Fiat brand to celebrate the companies’ new products — Natural Jones Soda and the Fiat 500e — which both launched exclusively in California last summer.

Light it up

In order to stand out among the “crowd” of other beverage bottles, this month Belvedere Vodka officially launched its Silver Saber bottle nationwide at major nightclubs and lounges that offer bottle service. The brand’s first laser-cut bottle features LED technology that enables it to glow for more than eight hours at a time. The 1.75-liter bottle also is waterproof so that it can be placed properly in an ice bucket, the company says. The Belvedere Silver Saber bottle originally made its debut on New Year’s Eve at select nightclubs in Miami, Los Angeles and New York City.

High-energy branding

The Seminole Tribe of Florida Inc., a federally recognized Indian tribe with a business development arm that owns Hard Rock International, released new Hard Rock Energy drinks in a test market in South Florida. The drinks are available in Original, Paradise Punch and Sugar Free varieties. The Original flavor is aqua blue in color and comes in a black can; the Paradise Punch flavor is light red and is packaged in a red can; and the Sugar Free version is clear and comes in a white can. All of the cans showcase the Hard Rock logo and retro electric guitar graphics. Additionally, Hard Rock Energy drinks contain 100 mg of caffeine in each serving, the company says. A new venture, Enterprise Beverage Group LLC, has been established to produce, distribute and market the Hard Rock Energy drinks. The Seminole Tribe of Florida Inc. is the majority owner of the new venture. “The Hard Rock brand is perfect for a new energy drink,” said David Drow, chief executive officer of Enterprise Beverage Group, in a statement. “Hard Rock is about high-energy music and entertainment. It’s about fun.”

Get up and dance

Heineken USA kicked off a new global responsibility campaign that encourages consumers to moderate their alcohol intake to have even more fun on a night out. The “Dance More, Drink Slow” program aims to show that, when people take the focus off drinking, they actually will dance more and have a better night, the company says. In partnership with Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren, Heineken released a video, “The Experiment,” that showcases a social experiment that drives this message home. The video features a new track from van Buuren titled “Save My Night.” The campaign also is bolstered by Heineken’s refreshed “Sunrise” TV spot, which first aired in 2011.

Branching out

The Coca-Cola Co.’s Odwalla brand continues to blossom its commitment to the environment by exchanging fans’ virtual trees for real trees through its Plant-A-Tree program. Now in its sixth consecutive year, thousands of people logged on to odwalla.com/plantatree during 2013 and created a virtual Odwalla tree. For every tree created online, Odwalla pledged to plant a real tree, with a goal of planting 100,000 trees nationwide. This goal was surpassed, and Odwalla, along with The Nature Conservancy and its partners, will facilitate the planting of 130,000 trees in forests and urban areas early this year. Since 2008, Odwalla has helped plant more than $500,000 worth of trees through Plant-A-Tree.

Partnering for photography

Functional water brand Essentia Water is partnering with Runa, the makers of guayusa beverages, to host the Own the Winter Facebook photo contest. Now through Feb. 28, the brands are inviting fans to submit photos showing how they live winter to the fullest. Weekly winners will receive two cases of Essentia Water and four boxes of Runa, and a grand prize winner will receive an eight-day trip for two to the Ecuadorian Amazon, including round-trip airfare, accommodations, hiking and rafting experiences, and participation in a guayusa ceremony. Each entrant also will receive a printable $1 coupon for each brand that can be redeemed at participating retailers. The brands also are promoting the contest throughout natural food and grocery stores in key retail markets.

A healthy reboot

To help consumers start the new year off on a healthy track, NextFoods’ GoodBelly probiotic juice drinks brand launched the Good Belly Reboot program. The 21-day program was designed to help naturally reset and renew digestive health with daily digestive wellness tips, challenges and reminders. Consumers can join the program through SparkPeople, an online healthy lifestyle community, to receive daily action steps via email to help improve overall digestive health within 21 days. Users are even able to personalize their start dates and receive support throughout their reboot from the program’s online discussion forum. GoodBelly’s probiotic juice drinks are infused with 10-50 billion cultures of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum 299v (LP299V), which promotes daily digestive health.

Join the crew

Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum celebrated what would have been the 103rd birthday of its namesake, Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, by tattooing fans for free. In honor of the former navy sailor and tattoo artist, the brand hosted flash art events on Jan. 14 in major U.S. markets to ink 103 fans at each location with a swallow, which is a popular navy tattoo.