PURCHASE, N.Y., Dec. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- PepsiCo's Mountain Dew today unveiled the details of its DEWmocracy program; a comprehensive open communications platform that relies on the collective intelligence of loyal consumers to shape the direction of the brand and Mountain Dew innovation pipeline. The current project, DEWmocracy 2, which launched in July 2009, is a twelve month, seven stage campaign that will result in the production of a completely user generated Mountain Dew beverage.

DEWmocracy is a term that was first coined in 2007 to help express the brand's desire to create open dialogue with consumers, using the social web to listen and respond to wants and needs of passionate fans. The first major DEWmocracy initiative, DEWmocracy 1, relied on an immersive story-based online game to develop a unique Mountain Dew beverage; Mountain Dew Voltage. Since its launch, Mountain Dew Voltage has sold more than 11 million cases, exceeding initial volume projections and has driven growth across the Mountain Dew portfolio.

Following the successful launch of Mountain Dew Voltage, Mountain Dew got to work on a larger initiative that goes beyond the limits of an online game. DEWmocracy 2 challenges DEW fans to create the next Mountain Dew product from flavor to package design to an advertising campaign. Most importantly, DEWmocracy is a truly democratic process that has been engineered to harness the power of the social web to empower brand loyalists to create new products, by the people, for the people.

"Mountain Dew's DNA is rooted in a DIY ethic, operating outside the mainstream, remaining true to itself. By shifting control of product development to its most passionate brand loyalists, Mountain Dew has elevated brand and consumer collaboration and co-creation to the next level," said Frank Cooper, SVP, chief consumer engagement officer, PepsiCo Americas Beverages. "DEWmocracy 1 proved the eagerness of DEW drinkers to invest in an experiment to develop a DEW product while DEWmocracy 2 puts power in their hands to create the experience."

Setting this campaign apart from similar initiatives is the brand's genuine desire to connect with consumers in social environments where they naturally hang out. Rather than relying on a single web platform, DEWmocracy 2 applies a variety of tools to best power the activity at hand; from closed forums to open platforms. This includes DEW labs, a private online community composed of the brand's most loyal, hard-core fans, innovative uses of Twitter, USTREAM, a 12seconds.tv video contest and a dedicated YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/dewlabs and http://www.youtube.com/mountaindew).

In April 2010, three user created products will launch at retail outlets throughout the United States. From here, competition will again ignite among DEW loyalists to keep their product of choice, or contribution, on shelf as only one of the three beverage innovations will become a permanent product in Mountain Dew's portfolio when the final decision is made in time for Labor Day 2010.

For more information visit: www.DEWmocracyMediaHub.com.

About Mountain Dew

Mountain Dew is a product of Purchase, N.Y.-based Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages (PCNAB). PCNAB is a division of PepsiCo, which offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 18 different product lines that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in over 200 countries. With more than $43 billion in 2008 revenues, PepsiCo employs 198,000 people who are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE: PepsiCo

Web site: http://www.pepsico.com/