Pepsi Beverages North America Returns As Official SXSW Sponsor, Includes Interactive Vending Fortune Teller

PURCHASE, N.Y., March 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Pepsi Beverages North America kicks-off its seventh consecutive year as the official carbonated soft drink partner of South by Southwest (SxSW),  the music and film festival held annually in Austin, Texas. Activating across multiple brand platforms, Pepsi®, Mountain Dew®, Brisk® Iced Tea and Lipton® Iced Tea will offer event attendees a host of interactive experiences designed to drive consumer engagement.

"South by Southwest is the epicenter of music, technology and innovation and we are honored to be partnering with the festival for the seventh year in a row," said Simon Lowden, Chief Marketing Officer at Pepsi Beverages North America. "We know from past experience that South By Southwest is a great space for brands to connect with and learn from consumers. In addition to fun and refreshing sampling experiences throughout the entire festival, this year, we are turning over the reins to festivalgoers by offering interactive brand experiences designed to engage consumers on a new level – from helping Pepsi to shape future of the music festivals to thrilling virtual experiences fueled by Mountain Dew."

Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Brisk and Lipton Iced Tea will infuse the Austin market with innovative, engaging activities from March 13-22 including:

Pepsi Activations
Pepsi Soundboard
Pepsi will invite the SxSW crowd to step into testimonial booths and sound off on their favorite music fests, festival enhancements and offer new ideas to evolve the space and shape the #FutureoftheFest in 15 seconds.

Interactive Vending Fortune Teller
An interactive vending machine will engage users through Kinect technology with a 3D fortune teller that surprises and delights consumers. In addition to giving out witty fortunes and delicious Pepsi , the machine will also offer users a chance to win VIP invites, Pepsi prizes or access to exclusive experiences.

Fest Rest Lounge
Festivalgoers can recharge at the Fest Rest Lounge and participate in "Fest Rest Chats" to explore the intersection of technology and music. Fast Company will be on site to share insights and key trends from the daily Pepsi Soundboard submissions.

Pepsi Presents: The Future of the Fest
Pepsi will host a "Fast Talk" to explore the intersection of technology, music and brands. Confirmed speakers include:

• Simon Lowden, Chief Marketing Officer, Pepsi Beverages North America
• Russell Wallach, President - Media and Partnerships, Live Nation
• Jack Antonoff, Musician and Singer
• Moderator: Teressa Iezzi, Editor of Co.Create

Pepsi Soundboard Launch Party
Following the "Fast Talk," Pepsi will host a launch party featuring a DJ set by Jane Doze, a SxSW/Pepsi Soundboard highlight reel and a presentation from Pepsi and Fast Company on key findings gleaned from festival goers.

Out of the Blue Bus
From March 18-22, Pepsi will deliver "Out of the Blue" moments to music fans in Austin as part of the brand's recently launched music platform. "Out of the Blue" aims to unite fans around unbelievable, once-in-a-lifetime music experiences that they can only get from Pepsi.  The "Out of the Blue" bus will hit the streets of Austin to ask artists and fans to "Pass the Mic" and lay down one verse of a rhyme. The best performances will be captured in an original music video.

2015 mtvU Woodie Awards and MTV Woodies Festival
Again this year, Pepsi will be an official sponsor of the 2015 mtvU Woodie Awards, the annual event at the forefront of breaking some of the biggest names in music.

Mountain Dew Activations
Green Label Live
Mountain Dew will bring its youth culture platform, Green Label, to life with an immersive consumer experience called Green Label Live featuring music, action sports, film, fashion, technology, food and beverage innovation on Wednesday, March 18.

Green Label Live Concert
Mountain Dew's in-house record label, Green Label Sound, will host a concert with live performances from A-Trak, whose song with Milo and Otis "Out the Speakers feat. Rich Kidz," was the beat that brought the brand's recent Super Bowl commercial for Mtn Dew Kickstart to life.  In addition, former Green Label Sound artists, Joey Bada$, and MNDR will perform, as well as the winner of the Green Label Sound: Open Call contest in partnership with SoundCloud, Kelechi.

Virtual Reality Experiences
Consumers can test Mountain Dew's new live action 360-degree virtual reality experiences, Dew VR Skate and Dew VR Snow, and meet professional skateboarding athlete Paul Rodriguez.

BevLab
Mountain Dew will invite attendees to sample new variations of the one-of-a-kind citrus beverage, such as Mountain Dew flavored ice cream, which will be churned on-site using a state-of-the-art cement mixer. Fans can also opt for new Mountain Dew flavor bursts, which use molecular gastronomy to produce frozen spheres of fans favorite flavors.

PinTrill Pop-up Shop
PinTrill's first pop-up shop will offer attendees unique street wear such as a custom, collectable Mountain Dew Green Label line of pins.

One-of-a-Kind Artwork
Green Label is teaming up with new Swedish startup Onehundredforty, an art experiment that merges smart programming and meticulous design to make personal art prints using words from Twitter. In a first-of-its-kind public display, they've transformed tweets from the Green Label community and Mountain Dew family into one-of-a-kind design prints that will be shown onsite at Green Label Live. Fans are also invited to view artwork curated by a local Austin skate influencer.

Brisk Iced Tea Activations
This year Brisk Iced Tea will be out at SxSW in a whole new way – unleashing its artist-created package designs across Austin to launch its new campaign, "Kinda Out There." South By Goers will see characters (sharks, llamas, lemons etc.)  from Brisk's package designs coming to life out in the streets, at events, in retail locations, and in live cameos, giving those who Spot and Tag them to social media (#ThatsBriskBaby #Entry –visit drinkbrisk.com/sxsw for more details), the chance to win epic, instantly redeemable prizes. Attendees can also hit up the Brisk Sampling Truck to enjoy an ice cold can of bold Brisk flavor – it's Kinda Out There.

Lipton Sparkling Iced Tea Activations
To celebrate the launch of Lipton Sparkling Iced Tea, Lipton will be bringing the official #TinyBubbles Outdoor Lounge to SxSW on March 20 – 22. Consumers can drop by the lounge to sample great-tasting peach, lemonade and raspberry flavored iced teas infused with light, crisp tiny bubbles for a refreshingly uplifting taste experience. Festival goers can also jump into the #TinyBubbles ball pit, pose and post their pic at the interactive GIF booth and take home #TinyBubbles goodies.