Dr Pepper/Seven Up Inc. has partnered with DoughNet Inc., a service that allows shoppers to buy online without a credit card, to target teen-agers in a back-to-school promotion for Hawaiian Punch.
Called the Hawaiian Punch Cool School Cash promotion, it began July 15 and runs through August. It is also one of Hawaiian Punch's early Internet efforts.
“From a packaged goods marketer's point of view, the redemption rate for such an online promotion is cost-effective,” said Ginger Thomson, CEO of DoughNet, San Francisco. “Also, it introduces the Hawaiian Punch brand in a way that's appealing to both parents and teens.”
Hawaiian Punch is part of a stable of brands owned by British marketer Cadbury Schweppes plc, the parent of Dr Pepper/Seven Up, Plano, TX. Its other brands include Sunkist, Squirt, Welch's, A&W Root Beer, Schweppes and Canada Dry.
The Hawaiian Punch promotion kicks off by driving offline store traffic online. To participate, consumers have to look for a so-called DoughCode. These codes can be found behind the labels of Hawaiian Punch's 20-ounce bottles or inside 12-packs of 12-ounce cans — a move designed to encourage consumption of the beverage.
Once entered online at www.doughnet.com/hawaiian-punch, the codes award the Hawaiian Punch drinker with a DoughNet online account of $20 in cash and a chance to win $50, $250, $1,000 or $10,000. The offer is limited to one account per person.
For DoughNet, the promotion not only allies it with a popular teen drink, but it also is aimed at spurring online shopping at the 80-plus retailers on the DoughNet Web site.
“Our challenge as a small company is to introduce DoughNet to as many people as we can,” Thomson said. “Our goal [with this promo] is to generate a lot of accounts.”
The DoughNet service works like a debit card. Consumers can open a credit account or bank account with a check, money order or credit card. The site allows users to shop online with a fixed balance that reduces with each purchase. Its primary audience is teens, who aren't eligible for credit cards as minors.
DoughNet's partner retailers include Amazon.com, CDNow.com, Skechers.com, Alloy Online, Sanrio.com, Esprit.com and Barnes & Noble.com. Many of these retailers also allow similar credit card-less shopping at DoughNet competitors icanbuy.com and RocketCash.com, which will soon be acquired by free Internet access provider NetZero.
Consumers can not only redeem the DoughCodes but also save them in their account. The DoughNet account is an insured bank account through a relationship with USABancShares.com. Another option is to donate the money to nonprofits like Save the Children and the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Pole signs, shelf ads and mentions on Hawaiian Punch packaging will alert shoppers to the promotion. Point-of-purchase displays feature the Punchy character at a locker bursting open with items a teen can buy through DoughNet.
The 20-ounce promotion will target teens in convenience stores and vending machines, while the 12-pack promo aims for their parents, who get a coupon good for 55 cents off their next purchase.
“We think that Hawaiian Punch is not only unique in targeting teens but also mothers, the same proposition that DoughNet has,” Thomson said. “So we're able to reach our two targets with one product.”
