NEW YORK: PepsiCo hired Ruder Finn as its retained PR agency for the Mountain Dew brand, following a competitive review.
The one-round review, involving a handful of mid-sized, small, and large agencies, mainly with offices on the East Coast, began in late November.
“We've had growth, and there is a tremendous amount of great activities we want to act upon in 2011,” said Joe Jacuzzi, VP of product and brand communications for PepsiCo Americas Beverages.
Beginning in mid-October, Ruder Finn had worked with the billion-dollar brand on a consumer project for the launch of Mountain Dew Whiteout. PepsiCo also recently worked with Coyne on a project basis. Jacuzzi confirmed Coyne was not invited to participate in the Mountain Dew review, but the agency is retained to support PepsiCo's Amp brand.
Porter Novelli was Mountain Dew's most recent retained agency, but PepsiCo ended that relationship during the first quarter of 2010, Jacuzzi said.
Ruder Finn's Chicago office works on a Gatorade “Sideline Moms” project for PepsiCo. Out of its New York office, the agency works on a corporate initiative called Dream Machine.
Though it is still finalizing plans for 2011 with PepsiCo, Ruder Finn will amplify some of Mountain Dew's biggest programs, such as its Green Label Art series and Dewmocracy, and use digital and traditional communications tactics, explained John McInerney, SVP at the agency and lead on the account.
