Mountain Dew Trends & Insights - August 2009
August 30th, 2009 by admin
STANCE & The Future of Snowboarding Films – Transworld Business
With its growing popularity, the action sports video industry has become heavily saturated, and finding a successful niche can be difficult - but definitely not impossible. Snowboarding industry veterans Jeremy Miller and Stan Evans teamed up this past season to create their take on the female snowboard film niche with a twist: offer a full bore HD, story-boarded production as a free download, in an effort to get it in front of as many eyes as possible, both within the industry and beyond, and drive integrated product sales online. The end result is JMills Entertainment’s STANCE, which will be available on October 1 and stars seven of the world’s top women riders. The creators’ method is to cater “to a much more non-endemic, broad-based market featuring riders, brands, and integrating the lifestyle element as well as keeping it entertaining for the core audience,” maximizing exposure. The video will be distributed online for free, promoted to the core market through Snowboarder Magazine; the buzz created will take off via social media. Sponsors of the video include: Oakley, Helly Hansen, DC, Ride, Billabong, K2, ROXY, Backcountry.com, High Adventure Powersports, Snowboarder Magazine, TransWorld Japan, Pleasure/ Spare, Cooler, and Stepleader Studios.
Importance to Mountain Dew:
Videos are a key facet of action sports. Fans and participants alike await the release of videos featuring their favorite riders, tricks and locations; there is an amp up to every new season when fresh videos are released to the masses. What’s next for action sports videos and how does Dew get noticed? Stance’s method of offering their video as a free download is the best way to get it in front of the most eyes; and utilizing social media to keep the buzz going is essential. Promoting through key endemics will keep the core engaged. The next big things for action sport videos: HD, social media, web-based distribution platforms and cutting edge technology, including 3D are all sure to draw lots of attention in the coming year of action sports videos.
The Uncertain Future of Professional Surfing – Transworld Business
Spearheaded by professional surfing legend Kelly Slater, ESPN has signed on to support and fully back a new eight-stop professional surf tour in 2010. In a recent interview with TransWorld Business, Quiksilver CEO Bob McKnight offered his insight about the potential benefits to the surf industry of introducing the new tour. According to McKnight, the sport of surfing—and in turn the industry surrounding it—would benefit from the exposure of televised tour events. “I don’t think the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals), has done a very good job…getting it out to more eyeballs, and enlisting big, balloon sponsors,” he said. According to McKnight the new tour would bring in large non-endemic sponsors; the contests are also reportedly going to be offering considerably more prize money than the current ASP World tour events. In addition, McKnight said that the new tour events will cost substantially less to sponsor for endemic companies.
Importance to Mountain Dew:
Unveiling the eight-stop tour for 2010, ESPN is taking a huge stride forward in an effort to grow the professional surfing circuit. With its introduction, ESPN is hoping to amp up the coverage and rejuvenate the exposure of professional surfing. It will be interesting and important to watch the reception of the tour by the action sports industry, and its impact; how many more eyeballs and fans will ESPN pull in for surfing? What professionals will become involved? What endemic and non-endemic brands will sign on to be sponsors? How many more fans will result? The success or otherwise of this tour could prove important in gauging any possibility of Mountain Dew’s future potential involvement in professional surfing.
Redbull’s Manny Mania Hits LA – Lat34.com
Red Bull Manny Mania is in its third year, and this weekend will be hitting its 14th and second-to-last stop of the 2009 tour in LA. During the 15 stop AM series, skaters from all corners of the U.S. get to show off their best manual combos; with the invite-only pro final taking place in June in NYC. The stops go beyond skate contests to include video premieres and parties, bringing together some of the best skateboarders in the country.
Importance to Mountain Dew:
As the top selling Energy Drink, Red Bull has an established credibility across the world of action sports. In part, this success is credited to their creation and sponsorship of unique action sports events. These events, such as Red Bull Manny Mania, represent strong grassroots efforts to give back to the action sports community, while at the same time garnering a loyal following of skateboarders and Red Bull fans. The more events on the grassroots level that Mountain Dew can get involved in, the more they will bolster their following.
X Games 3D: The Movie –Lat34.com
Movie Trailer - X Games 3D: The Movie
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X Games 3D: The Movie will be premiering this Friday the 21st and will be showing for the following week. Moviegoers will experience the ins-and-outs of the X Games. Danny Way, Shaun White, Travis Pastrana, Bob Burnquist, Tony Hawk and others share their stories and sacrifices before and during the annual X Games. The release comes after months of promotion, mainly through trailers shown during X Games 15.
Importance to Mountain Dew:
X Games 3D is one of many new 3D movies, TV shows, and commercials. This opens the door to advancements in future advertising by Mountain Dew. Commercials and Dew sponsored movies could soon be shot in 3D to bring action sports and advertising to a new level of viewer interaction. With action sports events only held in specific locations, 3D can help involve more fans around the country. The movie itself also encourages fans to learn more about the athletes and events. While fans usually only see athletes during competition, this movie will help them to understand the work involved and become even more involved with the athletes and events.
It’s Easy Being Green
Proof that being environmentally conscious isn’t just for granola heads or status seekers, the X Games went to great lengths to green the competition this year. From skate courses constructed of recycled materials and solar-powered stages to Moto X fuel recycling and bike-powered energy stations, the green mindset was pervasive thanks to a partnership with Global Inheritance, a nonprofit organization “working to reinvent activism for today’s youth.” Maybe we’ll soon start to see edible gardens planted alongside skate parks.
Importance to Mountain Dew:
Being environmentally friendly is a trend that’s here to stay, and action sports companies have long been on-board. Now action sports events are joining the bandwagon; Mountain Dew should consider “greening” up Dew Tour; from recycling initiatives for all of the bottles of Dew, utilizing recycled materials to build the courses, pairing with environmental organizations and enlisting athletes as spokespeople.