Cheerwine is the last soft drink brand in America still owned by its founding family after four generations. The bubbly, wild cherry-flavored soft drink has acult following and a distribution deal with Pepsi Beverages to be available in all 50 states by their 100th anniversary in 2017.
It’s known as the “Nectar of the South” by loyal fans, including indie rockers, The Avett Brothers, who performed a charity concert in October calledLegendary Giveback: Tour of Duty, to benefit three family aid organizations: Big Brothers Big Sisters, Operation Homefront and the University of Virginia Children’s Hospital, as part of an overall campaign called “Legend” created by NY-based agency Woods Witt Dealy & Sons.
The marketing objective of “Legend” is to leverage an existing fan base and grow brand awareness from the regional to the national level. Fans unable to attend the sold-out concert in person were invited to go online and pledge their time to volunteer with any charity or community organization through Cheerwine's website or Facebook page in return for an access code to view a livestream of the concert.
Nearly 28,000 entered a related sweepstakes offering a grand prize of a VIP trip to the concert and a meet-and-greet with the Avett Brothers, as well as other prizes including pairs of tickets, Giveback T-shirts, posters and Cheerwine coupons. In addition, the town that pledged the most hours (Bristol, Tennessee) was awarded Cheerwine merchandise and cash to host live Legendary Giveback viewing parties, and more than 2,000 people pledged to give back over 30,000 hours to their local community.
The Legendary Giveback campaign featured “can’t make this stuff up” stories that have occurred over its nearly 100-year history, such as Jonathan Wells’ story, which resulted in a radio spot(voiced by Scott Avett), after the soldier posted a picture of himself drinking a glass bottle of Cheerwine after having carried it in his backpack during his entire tour of duty in Iraq, only opening it as he was about to board a plane for home.
Created in 1917 in Salisbury, North Carolina by general store owner L.D. Peeler, his great grandson Cliff Ritchie leads the company today. Sightings of the drink have been reported at the Great Wall of China, the fjords of Northern Europe, and on the battlefields of Iraq, in this double-tiered initiative bridging entertainment, philanthropy and down-home authenticity. We'll raise a glass to that.
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