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The Big Snapple. In announcing a $166 million sponsorship deal with Snapple, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg yesterday demonstrated he wasn't kidding when he hired a chief marketing officer last April, as reported by David M. Herszenhorn in The New York Times. "Given the global popularity of Snapple products, this will present the city with countless new opportunities to make positive impressions on people around the world."
Those impressions will involve vending machines placed in schools and "other city properties, including office buildings, police stations and even sanitation depots," as well as $12 million a year on advertising that also promotes the city." The expectation is that the program will not only grow Snapple's market share, and generate revenues for the City, but also "encourage tourism and promote economic development." However, perhaps because soft drink sales in public schools are controversial, "Snapple is developing four new 100 percent juice drinks -- Green Apple, Orange Mango, Grape and Fruit Punch" as part of the deal.
The mayor acknowledged that the beverages were high in calories from sugar, but said he's fine with that: "I think most nutritionists would say that if you have to drink something that comes in a can, Snapple is probably as good as you can get, and they are also vending water." Besides, he added: "We already have vending machines in every school...So that's a bridge that has long ago been crossed..." Many more such bridges seem certain to be crossed before long. Joseph M. Perello, chief marketing officer of the City of New York carefully noted that Brooklyn-born Snapple, http://www.snapple.com, is "the official ice tea and water," implying openings for other beverage categories. The Snapple sponsorship, he advised, "is the start of a select number of really high-quality partnerships."
Tim Manners, editor
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