Mountain Dew, a leading soft drink brand known for its adventurous spirit, launched an innovative promotional campaign in partnership with the popular TV show Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) 2024. This collaboration allowed consumers to have a chance to be a part of the famous KBC set by simply scanning a QR code printed on Mountain Dew bottles. Consumers, upon scanning, were directed to the KBC WhatsApp page where they answered a series of questions. A select number of participants, based on their responses, would get a chance to appear on the KBC show and sit on the iconic "Hot Seat."
However, to ensure the success of this campaign, Mountain Dew needed to energize and educate channel partners, primarily retailers and distributors, about the QR code initiative. The channel partners played a critical role in promoting the campaign to consumers, and Mountain Dew wanted to make sure they were well-informed and motivated. To accomplish this, the brand sought to engage its sales force in a manner that mirrored the excitement of the KBC show, creating a unique, interactive experience.
To incentivize their participation, the top 20 retailers and distributors (based on sales) were promised special rewards, including the chance to attend KBC as part of the live audience and win exclusive gifts like duffle bags.
Objective
The primary goals of the Mountain Dew KBC campaign's sales engagement initiative were as follows:
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Educate Channel Partners:
Inform and train retailers and distributors about the QR code campaign and the steps consumers needed to take to participate.
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Drive Sales through Engagement:
Encourage retailers and distributors to sell more Mountain Dew bottles by motivating them with the chance to win prizes and be part of the KBC audience.
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Create Excitement and Motivation:
Develop a sense of excitement among the sales team, driving them to actively promote the campaign to consumers.
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Reward Top Performers:
Offer exclusive rewards, including participation in the KBC audience and duffle bags, to the top 5 retailers and distributors.
Challenges
Despite the clear objectives, Mountain Dew faced several challenges during the implementation of this campaign:
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Limited Awareness:
Many of the retailers and distributors were unaware or unfamiliar with the mechanics of the QR code campaign. Educating them quickly and effectively was a key hurdle.
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Engagement Fatigue:
Retailers and distributors, who are often bombarded with various sales campaigns, could easily lose interest or motivation to actively promote the QR code campaign unless it was presented in an engaging and interactive way.
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Geographic and Logistical Constraints:
Given the wide geographical spread of the channel partners across India, conducting in-person training sessions or events was impractical. A scalable, virtual engagement model was needed to reach and involve the entire network.
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Motivating Retailers in a Competitive Market:
Retailers and distributors operate in a highly competitive environment. Convincing them to push a single product over others during a campaign required strong incentives and motivation.
Solution
To address these challenges, Mountain Dew collaborated with Almonds Ai to create a KBC-themed virtual platform specifically for training and engaging Mountain Dew’s sales force. This platform was designed to replicate the KBC experience and make learning fun and competitive. Key features of the solution included:
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KBC-Themed Virtual Environment:
The platform recreated the look and feel of the KBC set, making the training process immersive and interactive. This theme aligned with the campaign's branding and created excitement for the participants.
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Quiz-Based Training:
The platform utilized a quiz format, modelled after KBC's question-answer style, to educate the sales team on the campaign details. Participants had to answer questions related to the campaign mechanics, the QR code scanning process, and how consumers could participate.
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Competitive Rewards System:
To motivate participation and encourage learning, the platform incorporated a competitive element. Sales team members could compete, and the top 20 performers received duffel bags as prizes. This reward structure created a sense of healthy competition and drove higher engagement.
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Virtual Participation Incentive:
In addition to educating the sales team, the platform offered them a chance to be part of the KBC audience themselves, enhancing the connection between the team and the campaign they were promoting.
Impact
The KBC-themed virtual engagement platform resulted in a series of positive outcomes for Mountain Dew's KBC campaign:
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High Engagement:
The interactive and entertaining format of the virtual platform led to strong participation from the sales team. The KBC theme, combined with the quiz-based engagement and competitive rewards, effectively captured the attention of the team members.
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Improved Campaign Knowledge:
The quiz-based training helped the sales force retain key information about the campaign. As a result, the sales team was better equipped to explain the campaign to consumers and promote it effectively.
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Motivated Sales Force:
The competitive element and the possibility of rewards boosted enthusiasm within the sales team. The chance to win prizes, along with the excitement of potentially being a part of the KBC audience, led to increased involvement and motivation to promote the campaign.
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Enhanced Promotion:
With a more educated and motivated sales team, the overall promotion of the campaign improved. Sales team members were more connected to the campaign, leading to better communication with consumers and, ultimately, more successful execution of the KBC QR code initiative.
In summary, Mountain Dew's collaboration with Almonds Ai to create a KBC-themed virtual platform successfully addressed the challenges of engaging, educating, and motivating their sales force. The platform not only made the training process fun and interactive but also drove higher levels of participation and improved campaign promotion, leading to a successful KBC campaign.
