B-to-C Events

In an effort to reinforce its brand among U.S. consumers Russian Standard Vodka recently hit nine markets with the Girls of Miss Russia USA tour. Claiming to be Russia’s No. 1-selling premium vodka and nightlife spirit the vodka brand traveled with five finalists from the Miss Russia pageant which is owned by the company.

Last Saturday Bloom grocery stores attempted to break the Guinness World Record for most couples kissing simultaneously. The brand distributed invitations encouraging football fans to lock lips with their neighbors during a half-time event at Furman University’s Paladin Stadium in Greenville SC which seats 16 000. The existing record was set in Tuzla Bosnia-Herzegovina on Sept. 1 2007 when 6 980 couples kissed on the lips at the same time for at least 10 seconds.

Pentel in August will engage in its largest college marketing effort to date. Teams of brand ambassadors will hit 37 college campuses this fall with samples to generate word-of-mouth for the brand with a back-to-school contest that plays up the smooth writing qualities of its Pentel Hyper G pen.

Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday is saying goodbye to its old image and ushering in a new one by turning the demolition of its last restaurant into a live consumer event. On Tuesday Aug. 5 at 3:00 p.m. EST the chain’s last remaining old-style eatery was blown up in a live Internet broadcast at rubytuesday.com. The event was part of the It’s a Brand New Tuesday campaign which is designed to kick start the chain’s brand makeover from bar and grill-style food and décor to fresh simple and modern American fare.

SINCE LAUNCHING ITS MY CIRCLE CAMPAIGN  in 2006 Alltel  Wireless has executed nine My Circle-themed consumer sweepstakes programs and has given away more than $1 million in prize packages. The brand’s eighth contest—the My Circle Pick & Roll Challenge—kicked off earlier this year. To enter consumers logged on to social networking website fanu.com to play weekly pick ’em games. Savvy basketball fans earned points for their hoops smarts.