Confirming recent rumors about a grape and/or orange flavor being added to PepsiCo's Amp Energy line, an article in Brandweek notes that 3 new flavors are actually going to be added!
- Amp Energy Elevate (Mixed Berry)
- Amp Energy Traction (Grape)
- Amp Energy Relaunch (Orange)
The confirmation of the Elevate brand also fits with a December 2007 trademark filing for the name.
Brandweek also noted that Pepsi is attempting to market the drink not for extreme folks or students, but rather for the everyday person. Additionally, it was admitted that the brand will shift away from being associated with its inspiration drink, Mountain Dew.
Details on the new flavors are as follows:
In three months, Amp will launch three new line extensions: Amp Relaunch will better hydrate consumers with an added mix of electrolytes and B vitamins. Amp Elevate can help boost drinkers' mental capacity with L-Theanine. Amp Traction will present as a sustained energy option.
This increased push coincides with other marketing efforts, including NASCAR sponsorship of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s #88 car and a Super Bowl commercial.
Here's the full Brandweek article:
PepsiCo Positions Amp As Everyman's Drink
January 21, 2008
By Kenneth HeinPepsiCo wants Mountain Dew Amp Energy to be the energy drink of the masses.
The beverage and snack giant has labeled Amp one of its “mega-brands” and plans to spend accordingly. A massive ad campaign starring Dale Earnhardt Jr. (likely debuting during the Super Bowl), three new flavors, a high-profile summer promotion and slew of packaging variations will aim to spur sales of the No. 5 energy drink.
The high-margin $5 billion energy category was up 35% for the first nine months of last year, per Beverage Digest, Bedford Hills, N.Y. It shows little sign of slowing.
Pepsi is making a big bet that Amp, which saw sales double last year, will become the choice of goal-oriented males 18-34. “Amp is about bringing your ‘A’ game whether it is going 200 miles per hour on the race track or going to your meeting,” said Maurice Herrera, Amp’s marketing director. “Energy drinks were about getting jacked up for the night. Now it’s about busy people who want a boost of energy.”
The poster child for this new attitude is Earnhardt, whom Amp and the National Guard signed to a sponsorship deal for a reported $25 million a year. Previously, he had driven for Budweiser.
Two spots, in which Amp gives Earnhardt an energy boost needed to battle a gorilla and race camels, are being considered for the big game. BBDO, New York handles. Tag: “Amp yourself.” Radio, print and the Ampenergy.com “Fuel Your Passion” user-generated content program support.
As on the track, Amp (which launched in 2001) and Earnhardt have plenty of competition. No. 2 Red Bull announced last week that it would make its 16.9 oz. can a permanent offering. The sugar-free version will also debut this quarter. Monster is No. 1 with 27% of the category.
New competitors are always on the horizon. AriZona, for example, last week announced it’s begun testing its 16 oz. non-carbonated All City NRG energy drink.
Coca-Cola distributes No. 3 Rock Star and owns No. 4 Full Throttle and growing Nos brand. Pepsi, meanwhile, is parent to two other top-10 brands: SoBe No Fear and Adrenaline Rush.
Still, Amp will get most of the attention. At retail, the Dale Jr. Collector Series of 12 oz. sleek cans will be available during prime beverage season (May-July). Account-specific packaging began hitting stores last week, including Wal-Mart eight packs for $11.88, a tie-in with Earnhardt’s car number 88. Eighty-eight AMP show cars will appear in retail locations all season long. POP will promote Amp as “Energy that drives you.” The drink will also sponsor the Amp Energy 500 at Talladega on Oct. 5.
While Amp is making a conscious effort to separate itself from its Mountain Dew sibling, it will partner with the No. 4 soft drink for the “Old School/New School” national promotion from May to July. Consumers will be invited to enter codes at oldschoolnewschool.com to win a variety of cutting-edge prizes, as well as vintage items like sneakers, video games and apparel. “It was born out of Dew. We will quietly maintain a hint of it, but we want to downplay it,” said Herrara.
In three months, Amp will launch three new line extensions: Amp Relaunch will better hydrate consumers with an added mix of electrolytes and B vitamins. Amp Elevate can help boost drinkers' mental capacity with L-Theanine. Amp Traction will present as a sustained energy option.
Pepsi spent $10.2 million on media for Amp for the first 11 months of 2007, per Nielsen Monitor-Plus. This year, “we’re going to play big,” said Herrera. “Amp will get a tremendous amount of focus.”
[...] March, in their bid to increase marketshare for their energy drink Amp, PepsiCo released 3 new flavors that joined the traditional Dew-inspired original and its cherry-spinoff Overdrive. These flavors [...]
Hi…..difficult to find any information regarding your AMP products in my city (Hartford, CT) and online. I have been searching for retail locations who STOCK and SELL Amp energy Relaunch (orange flavor) for quite sometime. Supposedly the local food chain store Stop and Shop sells it but every store i go to has a mix/matched selection of your product randomly mixed in with other products. My last visit I found 3 cans of the orange. (WOW). Also Walmart is supposed to sell the product. We have 5 Walmart stores within 10 minutes drive of the city but once again they stock a bare minimum. Usually only the green can and sometimes the purple…….NO ORANGE. I dont see the point of you investing so much money in this product if you dont have anyone willing to properly stock the product. I live in the capitol city of Connecticut and you'd think SOMEONE besides myself would be interested in this product. If anyone who reads this can point me in the direction of a distributor or retail outlet id appreciate it.