ARTICLES

IEG Sponsorship Report
Market Leader Mott's Steps Up With National Cause Sponsorships
July 13, 2009

Looking to better connect with its target audience of moms, Mott's LLP has upped its marketing budget a whopping 33 percent over the past year.

As part of that effort, the leading U.S. applesauce and apple juice marketer has partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Feeding America to launch national cause marketing programs.

"In the planning phase for this year, we were looking to take the Mott's brand to a new level and really engage our core consumers," said Dave Fleming, Mott's director of marketing. "Both partnerships, while different in nature, allow us to reach our consumers and get them involved in the process of giving back."

The Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. unit also is leveraging the cause ties as targeted platforms to promote the healthful nature of its products, including the messages that one cup of Mott's applesauce contains a full serving of fruit, while one eight-ounce glass of its apple juice has two full servings.

Additionally, Mott's is using the new marketing initiatives to gain attention for the brand as it gears up for new product rollouts over the next year.

Komen Partnership Includes Packaging, Race Series Elements
Mott's is promoting two of its applesauce products-Mott's Healthy Harvest and Mott's Plus-through the breast cancer cause. Mott's is paying $300,000 to the foundation.

The products are the focus of the company's Pink to the Core campaign, featuring limited edition packaging available through October. Retail promotion includes displays and point-of-sale materials.

Mott's also is a national series sponsor for Komen's Race for the Cure events. At 121 U.S. races, Mott's is sampling product, distributing coupons and handing out fliers that encourage women to take charge of their breast health. The fliers also refer consumers to Mott's and Komen's Web sites.

At 17 events, Mott's sets up experiential display tents featuring a mock apple orchard. Brand ambassadors use the booth to sample product and ask visitors to make a pledge to take care of their health.

Attendees are invited to write down their pledges on apple-shaped paper and hang them on one of three relevant tree displays: getting more exercise, eating more healthy foods and learning more about breast cancer.

For more information, contact:
frenchie@powerpact.com

In exchange for their pledges, attendees are given co-branded eco-friendly shopping bags and product coupons.

The Pink to the Core program was developed as an empowerment statement to capture Mott's commitment to the cause and to help Komen meet its goal of encouraging women to take charge of their health and reduce their cancer risk, said Christine Price, senior account supervisor with PowerPact, the agency that developed and is executing the on-site promotional elements.

The relationship builds on Dr Pepper Snapple Group's two-year-old association with Komen. The company provides the foundation with a guaranteed donation of $250,000 around the sale in January and February of specially-marked bottles of diet soda products, including 7Up, Sunkist and Canada Dry.

Food Bank Network Tie Features Cause Marketing Program
While Dr Pepper Snapple Group has been a long-time supporter of Feeding America through product donations, Mott's has expanded its partnership through a cause marketing platform.

The company is activating the tie with the Wake Up with Mott's and Marcia Cross program. Consumers who visit Motts.com can send a pre-recorded telephone message about the need to fight poverty from the Emmy-winning actress-and the first celebrity face of Mott's advertising-to themselves, friends or family members.

For each call, Mott's is donating $1 to the nonprofit, with the goal of feeding one million Americans in need. Mott's will contribute up to $134,000-the cost of feeding one million people-and the program does not have an end date.

Cross, the Desperate Housewives star and mother of twins, also touts the promotion in national print ads. She kicked off the program in March by distributing healthy meal options at the Food Bank of New York City's Open Market BackPack program, a national Feeding America platform designed to meet children's food needs at times when school meals are not available.

Mott's will determine success from the two programs based on consumer research, feedback from race participants, sales of the limited-edition applesauce products and donations generated through Motts.com, Fleming said.

Mott's is the leader in both the U.S. applesauce and apple juice categories, claiming 39 percent and 16 percent market share, respectively, for the year ended May 17, according to Chicagobased market research firm Information Resources, Inc.