Eye On Marketers

As their sales drop, Coca Cola is investing more in its Freestyle dispenser machine which allows consumers to mix their own sugary drinks. The machine is being heralded as "an admission by Big Soda that they have to endorse a young drinker's consciousness" and is a blatant effort to stay relevant among youth and young adults. Upcoming promotion for the Freestyle machine will be digitized including a mobile app which will allow consumers to pre-mix their drinks on their cellphones and scan the app to the machine itself.

To promote their new Spicy Chicken Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos, Taco Bell is partnering with the popular mobile app SnapChat. The app will feature a short film featuring the new product and will be launched in conjunction with television, radio, and other social media promotion. The marketing tactic is another example of Big Food turning to the latest in technology to push unhealthy products on young, tech savvy consumers.

Vita Coco, a leading maker of coconut water, is partnering with the upcoming animated film Rio 2 to launch two new flavors of the Vita Coco Kids line. The new flavors are named after characters in the popular children's movie and will be promoted using digital, print, social media, and in-store advertisements. While the adult-targeted products in the Vita Coco line are made with 100% juice, the children's products are made with only 50% juice and have added sugar.

The competition asks fashion design students at historically black colleges to create designs inspired by the McCafe brand and offers prestigious apprenticeships and scholarships as prizes. According to a McDonald's spokesperson, "McCafe beverages are the perfect complement for aspiring designers as they work tirelessly to pursue their dreams."