Midori Adds ‘It Guy’ to ‘It Girl’ Search with $2 Million Push
Midori is at it again: Spanning the country looking for the hippest trendsetters who have “It” to represent the brand at its Web site.
With a $2 million-plus budget in hand, Midori has added a new spin this year aimed at including one of the brands’ most important customer segments, gay men. Midori is not only looking for the It Girl, but is now also looking for the It Guy. The winners of the search become the official faces of the Midori U.S. Web site.
“We do recognize this is an important consumer for our product,” said Lisa Pfenning, brand manager of Midori. “So we said let’s do it right and added the search for the It Guy.”
To better reach the gay community, the tour has increased the number of stops targeting gays.
Just like last year, a mobile studio will hit the road targeting women and now men, ages 25 and older.
The tour kicked off last week in Miami and will make two-week visits to nine cities, hosting more than 50 events at mainstream and alternative on-premise venues along the way.
Those 21 and older can enter the studio for a makeover and a photo session by a professional photographer to capture their “It” factor, Midori said. Those 25 and older can enter their photos into the “Do you have It?” contest. The photos will be posted online at MidoriDoYouHaveIt.com, where voters will choose each city’s “It” guy or girl. The finalists will face off later this summer in an online run off where one male and one female will be chosen the 2005 winners.
Participants get a copy of the photo, an Urban Decay make-up gift bag, a Midori Illusion sample and a limited edition Midori Illusion CD (also new this year). The CD features a remix of the 80s song Illusion by R&B artist Kim Sozzi and incorporates the brand message.
Midori Illusion is a blend of Midori, pineapple juice and sister brand Stolichnaya. Last year, Midori Splice was sampled and some consumers said it was too sweet, thus the samples of Illusion this year.
In-bar sampling will be supported by giveaways such as glow bracelets and body stencils. Midori ambassadors will be on hand at events to show people to the tour bus.
In addition to Miami, stops include Boston, Philadelphia, PA, New York, Pittsburgh, PA, Detroit, MI, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
The tour ends in September and is designed to drive trial and heighten awareness of the melon liqueur with the distinctive vibrant green color among its core target, women ages 21 to 29 and gay men. The drink launched in the U.S. in 1978. Allied Domecq Spirits is the parent of Midori.
Midori puts the bulk of its marketing efforts toward the summer months, the key selling season for the brand.
“It’s when our consumers are out there and when they’re consuming our products,” Pfenning said. “It’s allowing us to connect with our consumers in their environment in a grassroots way.”
Print ads in Glamour, Lucky, Out, Hamptons, Instinct and Cosmopolitan support as well as a major online component, e-mail and p.r.
Publicis and Relay Sponsorship and Event Marketing, both in New York handle.
