Anna Huddleston

 Beverage brand SoBe this summer is executing an experiential campaign to generate trial and awareness for its new flavors. The campaign is part of an integrated effort, the largest for the PepsiCo-owned brand since 2008, called Try Everything, which also includes TV, radio and Internet.

Yahoo! has been taking New Yorkers by surprise this summer with a giant talking mailbox and a fleet of brand ambassadors dressed as mail carriers to promote its updated version of Yahoo! mail, a service meant to connect users in a more personal way through enhanced features like photo sharing and improved spam protection. The stunts started early last month when Yahoo! plopped a giant branded purple talking mailbox on 9th Street and 8th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, on June 2, and on Stuyvesant Street, in Manhattan on June 3.

USA Network over two weekends in June headed to farmers’ markets, hiking trails and dog parks in Los Angeles as part of a street-level “For Your Consideration” campaign targeting voting members of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and other influencers. The goal of the campaign was to keep the cable network top-of-mind during Emmy Nomination season, which is going on now.

The Ben & Jerry’s ice cream truck is on tour again this summer, but with less of a focus on fixed events and more on personal requests via Twitter.  Touring since May, it’s currently taking requests in the New York market. Though Twitter is the main social media hub it’s using, Facebook, Foursquare, Flickr, Tumbler and others are also part of the strategy to connect with its target of professionals in their 20s (no worries, requests are open to all ages).

 In its first foray into event and social media marketing, Luzianne Tea in May launched a Specially Blended RV Tour that offers consumers six-ounce samples of its freshly brewed sweet, unsweetened and green iced teas. Brand ambassadors post images on Facebook and Twitter from the campaign, which is expected to serve more than 250,000 samples and distribute $82,500 worth of coupons both online and on tour.