PURCHASE, N.Y., March 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Brisk, the iced tea brand known for its bold flavors, announced today the next phase of its Brisk Bodega platform, including a new marketing campaign—"Not Half Bad"—as a part of its evolution to better connect to its core consumer base. The new stripped-down, honest direction comes after conducting deep ethnographic research on the demographic, which provided insights Brisk has infused into all 2014 activations.  

The biggest evolution comes with Brisk's shift from leveraging borrowed equity (as done in the past with iconic properties and big-time sporting events) to developing an owned equity platform in BriskBodega.com—a digital portal of original and curated content the brand launched nine months ago in partnership with VICE Media and Noisey. BriskBodega.com offers consumers access to today's hottest music talent, a behind-the-scenes look at the Brisk Bodega tour, and a loyalty program with incentives like premium headphones and custom watches.

"This new direction is refreshingly honest," said Eric Whitehouse, Director of Marketing, Brisk Iced Tea. "We're not trying to be louder than all of the brands around us—we're connecting with our fans in an authentic and relatable way, and letting the consumers and products speak for themselves."

"Not Half Bad" Campaign
The new advertising campaign kicks off today, and supports the brand's new product line Half & Half—a millennial twist on the iconic, old-timey tea and lemonade combination. The ads, which humbly proclaim the tagline, "It's Not Half Bad," didn't have the typical production process. There were no scripts, stylists or green rooms. Instead, Brisk brought in real people from its core consumer base and asked for their real reactions to the newest additions to the flavor family.

"Our approach for engaging with our target hinges on co-creation and self-expression. Not only are we involving our target in our ad creative, but we're operating under these principles across all platforms," said Whitehouse. "Some of our top-performing Facebook posts are 'Epic Comments,' re-posts of the best comments left by our original, creative community."

The campaign includes radio, OOH, mobile and digital, appearing on BriskBodega.com, as well as an under-the-cap/under-the-tab promotion on one-liter bottles and 24-ounce cans beginning May 19. Prizes include more than 4,000 custom premiums and one lucky grand prize winner will have a chance to win a 2014 Chevy Avalanche truck with a custom paint job by Crooks & Castles.

Brisk Bodega: SXSW and Beyond
In celebration of new Half & Half, Brisk will return to SXSW under the Brisk Bodega umbrella, this time teaming up with Roc Nation recording artist and producer DJ Mustard to create an unexpectedly exciting lineup of activities. At only 23 years old, Los Angeles native DJ Mustard is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after producers in the business, and has landed on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart five separate times since the year began. In addition to DJ Mustard, SXSW attendees will have the chance to visit the Brisk Bodega experience beginning at 8 p.m. on March 13 to watch performances by recording artists TY$, YG, Deniro Farrar and more.

The SXSW event will kick off the Brisk Bodega summer music series, which will include a six-city tour featuring up-and-coming and established talent, curated by industry-standout DJ Mustard. Additionally, Brisk has partnered with urban apparel brand Crooks & Castles to co-create an exclusive line of items (sunglasses, shirts and accessories) to be available at SXSW and the Brisk Bodega series.

This year, Brisk and VICE Media will continue to push out more regular, themed content to BriskBodega.com, including:

• Rap PSAs: A play off the classic PSAs from the 90s, episodes range from how to drive safely, to how to dress well, with illustrations to exaggerate each anecdote.
• Live from the Streets: Leveraging one of Noisey's more popular shows; the inspiring stories focus on young rappers who are passionate about both where they came from, and where they're going.
• Call Your Mom:We'll ask rappers to call their moms on speakerphone, and see what happens. It's hard to think of a conversation more intimate.

New Brisk Half & Half line is available now in 24-ounce cans and 1 liter bottles, and in three flavors: Iced Tea & Lemonade, Iced Tea & Cherry Limeade and Iced Tea & Tropical Lemonade.

For more information about Brisk Iced Tea, visit Facebook.com/Brisk and BriskBodega.com.

Interviews and high-res images are available upon request.

About PepsiCo 
PepsiCo is a global food and beverage leader with net revenues of more than $65 billion and a product portfolio that includes 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. Our main businesses—Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola—make hundreds of enjoyable foods and beverages that are loved throughout the world. PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages from treats to healthy eats; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment by conserving energy and water and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

About Unilever North America 
Unilever is one of the world's leading suppliers of fast moving consumer goods with strong operations in more than 100 countries and sales in 180. With products that are used over 2 billion times a day around the world, we work to create a better future every day and help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others. In the United States and Canada the portfolio includes brand icons such as: Axe, Becel, Ben & Jerry's, Bertolli, Breyers, Caress, Consort For Men, Country Crock, Degree, Dove personal care products, fds, Good Humor, Hellmann's, I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!, Just for Me!, Klondike, Knorr, Lever 2000, Lipton, Motions, Nexxus, Noxzema, Pond's, Popsicle, Promise, Q-Tips, Ragu, Simple, Skippy, Slim-Fast, Soft & Beautiful, St. Ives, Suave, tcb, TIGI, TRESemme, Vaseline, and Wish-Bone. All of the preceding brand names are registered trademarks of the Unilever Group of Companies. Dedicated to serving consumers and the communities where we live, work and play, Unilever employs more than 13,000 people across North America—generating over $9 billion in sales in 2011. For more information, visit www.unileverusa.com or www.unilever.ca.

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SOURCE Brisk