7-Eleven Launches Summer of Slurpee Tour

Convenience store 7-Eleven is celebrating its iconic Slurpee frozen beverage with a mobile tour targeting 16- to 24-year-olds at favorite summer hang outs--malls, movie theatres, concerts, water parks, fairs and festivals. The tour is traveling in two 16-foot vans and three 32-foot vans, all branded with colorful artwork, where consumers can sample Slurpee flavors, play low-tech backyard-style games with balls and stacking cups or video games to win key chains, magnets, stickers and more. Brand ambassadors hand out coupons to drive in-store redemption in each market.
 
Kicked off on June 1 and wrapping on Aug. 31, the tour is making stops in Dallas, Detroit, Long Island, Los Angeles, Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Orlando and San Francisco, reaching its peak on July 11 (as in 7-Eleven) when in honor of its 83rd birthday more than 8,200 stores in the US and Canada will give away roughly five million 7.11-ounce Slurpees. Also on that date, “Slurpee-brations” and 7-Eleven birthday parties will offer music, food sampling and entertainment.
 
July 11 also marks the beginning of 7-Eleven’s second annual Slurpee Battle of the Bands contest in which 12 bands compete for semi-finalist status at regional concerts in Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York. Fans can view the performances on Slurpee’s Facebook page and vote for their favorite on Slurpee.com. Four semi-finalists will travel to Dallas to create music videos to be aired on Facebook and then again voted on by the public; the last two standing will perform concerts in their hometowns. The ultimate winner, to be announced on Sept. 30, will receive a $10,000 grand prize, an in-studio recording session and will be featured on Wolfgangsvault.com.
 
“The Summer of Slurpee tour adds another layer to our overall marketing efforts,” Evan Brody, marketing manager for Slurpee and Big Gulp brands at 7-Eleven, told Buzz. “It gives us the ability to have one-on-one interactions with our consumers and allows us to create additional experiences they can’t get anywhere else as well as drive awareness of our Slurpee Nation rewards program.” Agency: The Marketing Arm/Usmp, Dallas.