Ocean Spray Harvests Crans in Cities; Piggybacks Pepsi Distribution
Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. is readying a Bogs Across America promotion for New York, Chicago and Los Angeles timed to the cranberry harvest season.
At the same time, Ocean Spray is prepping to begin a distribution and licensing deal with Pepsi-Cola Co. that will bring single-serve Ocean Spray beverages outside the supermarket and put the Ocean Spray name on new Pepsi products.
Ocean Spray is bringing its bog to public waters (think Rockefeller Center’s fountain) for a Bogs Across America promotion that shows local residents how cranberries are harvested. The effort extends a p.r. push last year that build a temporary bog in Manhattan, with coverage including The Today Show. Arnold Brand Promotions, Boston, handles the effort, which kicks off Nov. 2 in New York and builds on Ocean Spray’s year-old Straight from the Bog ad campaign starring two growers, dressed in waders, extolling the virtue of cranberries (juice and Craisins) from the middle of a bog. Ad shop Arnold Worldwide is shooting about 10 new spots that will run on Ocean Spray’s revamped Web site, which is due to relaunch in November.
“We stared at the bog for many years and couldn’t figure out how to take that undeniable truth about the brand and bring it to life for marketing,” said Ocean Spray COO Ken Romanzi. The company is looking at packaging ideas that could leverage the bog too, he added.
Meanwhile, the distribution schedule begins in January, with Ocean Spray single-serve on Pepsi trucks headed for non-grocery destinations including c-store, mass merchandise and foodservice outlets. Pepsi and Lakeville, MA-based Ocean Spray announced the agreement in July, after a year’s worth of negotiation. (The two had a joint distribution arrangement for several years about a decade ago, but it unraveled under Ocean Spray’s previous management.) Ocean Spray’s co-op members—who are all cranberry growers—have pushed the company to pair up again with Pepsi, Romanzi said.
Pepsi also has licensed the Ocean Spray name for new beverages with cranberry juice, to be sold in supermarket soft drink aisles. Romanzi keeps hands-on control of the process: Pepsi needs his approval for any product it proposes. Could Pepsi goods cannibalize Ocean Spray’s thriving juice line? “We’ll watch it closely,” Romanzi said.
