New 7UP campaign meant to boost and reposition struggling soda brand

13-Feb-2017 - Last updated on 14-Feb-2017 at 15:11 GMT

In the newly-launched campaign, 7UP is broadening its market reach as an ingredient staple for baking and cocktail mixing.

Dr. Pepper Snapple Group-owned 7UP will focus on highlighting the carbonated soft drink as an essential staple for baking, cooking, and cocktails in its upcoming campaign.

In the digital campaign, titled “Mix It UP a Little,” consumers are encouraged to use all varieties of 7UP as an ingredient including: regular, 10 calorie, diet and cherry.

“With no other brand positioning themselves as a versatile add-in within the soda category, 7UP expands into a new territory,” the company said.

The 7UP brand has been an area of increased focus for Dr. Pepper Snapple Group as sales have struggled last year, declining 10% in volume sales in the second quarter of 2016. The brand has began to shows signs of recovery in the third quarter of 2016.

“We've been very focused on improving the performance of 7UP and have a separate ‘Lean track’ dedicated to the brand,” Dr. Pepper Snapple Group executive, Martin M. Ellen, said during the company’s Q3 2016 earnings call.

“While we are not declaring success and still have a great deal of work to do on the brand, we are very encouraged by the recent improvement in trends.”

A history of mixing

"We didn't need to look far to realize that people have been using 7UP as a component of their concoctions for decades. We wanted to acknowledge that truth and elevate all the ways in which consumers are enjoying our product," Kevin Brandvold, director of marketing for 7UP, said.

The campaign will include digital video advertisements highlighting the versatility of 7UP with consumers demonstrating how they use the lemon lime soda as a mixer, positioning the brand in a new category.

"For this campaign, we wanted to demonstrate all of the ways you can mix 7UP," Brett Craig, executive creative director at Deutsch, said.

"We liked the notion of showing our characters in unexpected situations that highlight the ways they've used 7UP as a staple mixer.”

The digital videos feature musical artists such as Sir Mix-a-Lot, M.C. Hammer, and 2 Chainz using 7UP as a cocktail mixer and as a baking ingredients.

On the brand site, a recipe generator features food recipes that contain 7UP as an ingredient including bundt cake, biscuits, and kimchi. The website also features cocktail recipes such as “7UP sweet old fashioned” and “7UP Sangria.”