Let me start with the very beginning when God told me that He was going to give me a MacBook Pro. First of all, I bought a PC last year because that was the best financial decision for me to make when I was in the process of purchasing a computer. My desire has always been for a Mac, but my opinion is that if you are going to buy a Mac, go all the way, or don't go at all. Therefore, I bought a PC :(. But while I was working with the Junior High Saturate Youth Church, they all have Macs for the media stuff. And when I was sitting in front of a Mac, God spoke to my spirit saying, "What if I gave you a Mac?" Say whatever you want about that statement, but nonetheless it happened. And fyi, I'm typing this on the very Mac that God gave me.
So Mountain Dew in 2008, I believe, they had the first Dewmocracy where they came out with 3 flavors: Voltage, Revolution, and Supernova. You could go online and vote for your favorite one. Voltage is the one that won. Supernova was by far my favorite. That was the one that SHOULD have won. Just sayin.
This time they wanted to step it up and have mountain dew fans be a part of every aspect of creating the drink.
A mobile tour that created more than 222,712 sampling experiences, along with home-tasting kits sent to 50 DEW fanatics, narrowed seven test flavors down to three. DEW Labs trucks traveled to 17 markets, giving consumers a chance to vote on the contenders. Those three flavors will be the ones coming out into stores in April. At this point they were still only known by their test numbers, 509, 493, and 231.
DEW Labs, a community composed of Mountain Dew's 4,000 most passionate fans, was created by the brand. I became a part of this community in August. Each member received samples of the three final flavors, chose a favorite and joined the corresponding "Flavor Nation." When they sent the three cans to me I was in South Carolina for school, and my mom had called me joking around that she had drank all of them without me. I was not at all thrilled when she told me this because she doesn't even like mountain dew that much. But fortunetly she didn't. The next weekend I decided to go home to pick up my car because I had left it there and I got to try all of the three flavors while I was there. My favorite flavor was by far 509. So I went online and became a part of that "Flavor Nation."
Next, DEW flavor scientists provided insight into the creation process so that Flavor Nations could decide how best to describe their beverages. 509 is described as "Punch of Tropical Dew," 493 is described as "Smooth Citrus Dew," and 231 is described as "Lime Blasted Dew."
Each flavor now needed a color. DEW Labs members received an 18-color palette and a "color pour" video, and selected the three that best matched their beverage. Then DEW fans everywhere were asked to "Shoot Your Shade" and choose among the nine finalists (three colors for each flavor). People picked their favorites on Facebook, and those votes later came to life: Each triggered a shot from a matching paintball gun during a live event conducted with Ustream.tv.
To name their beverage, Flavor Nation members submitted lists of suggestions. Then each Nation chose their three favorites once Mountain Dew's legal department had vetted the names. These finalists now entered into a Twitter race: DEW fans could become followers of their favorite names, and the names with the most followers would win. Typhoon led the pack for No. 509, Distortion landed a majority of votes for No. 231, and White Out won out for No. 493.
Mountain Dew sent out a challenge to designers, art schools, artists and DEW fans to create a look for each flavor. Entrants had to design a basic Mountain Dew label, and DEW fans judged their style on Facebook, narrowing the hundreds of submissions down to 10. The final decision was handed over to the Flavor Nations, who voted for the artist they felt was best suited to their product. This is where I came into play. I received this email only a few days after God told me that He was going to give me a Mac. When I read it, I literally thought, "God, is this how you are going to give me a Mac?" However, in order for me to be submit a design, I had to delete my account on the Dew Labs. But I knew God told me to enter this contest, so I gladly deleted my account. I then started praying and fasting that I would have the right heart in all of it and that all the glory would go to Him and that this whole process would bring expand His kingdom. Since I personally liked 509 Typhoon the best I used the flavor of that drink for my inspiration in my design. I really prayed that God would do a work in me to create the very design He wanted me to create. Here is the design that I entered in.
When you submitted your design it went on Facebook for a multiple day voting period. There were over 200 submissions. The top ten of that voting period would be awarded a 17-inch MacBook Pro and move on to the next level to get voted into the top 3. Here is the link for the voting to get into the top, and the winners: http://apps.facebook.com/dewdesigngallery/ . I had sent out a facebook event to all my friends to spread the word to vote for me. I had been sweating out the voting period because they only showed the top 5 and mine had never made it into the top 5. After the voting period, I would check up multiple times during the day on Mountain Dews facebook to find any indication of the top ten. Then one day, I noticed in one of the discussion boards that a guy said that he received notification via email that he had gotten in the top ten. When I went to go check my email, I had nothing of the sort. At first I was so confused because I knew that God had told me that I was going to get into the top ten. Since I didn't get that email, I already told everyone that I did not make it into the top ten but that I really appreciated them all voting for me. The next day I was just playing around on my computer and I noticed an email in my junk mail folder and decided to go click to see what it was. And there it was. My notification that I had gotten in the top ten. Was I excited? Heck yes I was. I practically tackled my roommate Evie. :)
From the top ten, they took all those design submissions and put it into the DewLabs for each of the "Flavor Nations" to compete for which designer they wanted for their flavor. Praise the Lord that Typhoon picked me to be their designer! That was the very one I wanted! This is what made me into the top three. I found out that I got in the top three on October 14th, my parents anniversary. It is sooo funny that I found out on this day because ever since I was in junior high I would always see the numbers 10 14 everywhere. Whether it would be on a mailbox, license plate, or clock, I saw it VERY often. And Since October is the 10th month, and it was on the 14th day, coincidence? I think not! oh, and FYI, top three you receive $10,000. Very, very exciting! Also, might I just add that NO ONE, NOT A LIVING SOUL was in my apartment when I got the email for top three. For those that don't know, there are seven girls living in my apartment including me. And no one was home. I had to run outside to find someone to tell because I was soo excited. It was funny cuz when I first got the email, I had to read over it multiple times to make sure I was reading it correctly, and then when I ran outside and told a few people, I ran back inside to read the email again, JUST IN CASE I didn't read it right the first five times. :D
I then worked very closely with Mountain Dew and the members in the Dew Labs for my flavor nation. Mountain Dew set me up in Discussion Boards in the Dew Labs and I even got to do a Live Chat to talk with all the members of Typhoons Flavor Nation. The whole point of the discussion boards and the live chats was to find out what they wanted the final design to look like. Here is the final design.
The next stage was for the advertising. Each Flavor Nation will need a TV commercial, so a call went out to small advertising agencies, film students and individuals: Submit a 12-second Mountain Dew spot that demonstrates your skills. Entries were uploaded to 12seconds.tv, where DEW fans voted for their favorites, choosing six finalists. Voting ended Dec. 13. The finalists then created a short pitch video for the Flavor Nations, which selected which ad creator they would like to work with. Typhoon chose Crashtestproductions, White Out chose dewadew, and Distortion chose animaticmedia. They are now working on the final advertisement commercials that will be aired on national television in April.
Flavor Nations will get competitive as they prepare to fight for the allegiance of DEW fans when their products hit store shelves in April 2010. After the beverages are released, the Flavor Nations will rally friends, family and the rest of the country to vote for their product, with national advertising supporting the rallies. The flavor with the most votes will become a permanent member of the DEW family. I really hope that Typhoon makes it! Last I heard, in the Dew Labs Community, Typhoon had the largest following!
Also, I will explain the trip to New York. Mountain Dew sent me on an all expense paid trip to New York City for the press release of Dewmocracy 2. They had a studio set up explaining all the stages of the campaign as well as visual examples. All of the original 7 flavors were there to taste. All of the different colors to pick from were there. They had three groups of press coming in to interview, video, whatever. I basically got to share my involvement and what my inspiration was for the design, as well as how I enjoyed the whole process. Here are some links for the press release:
http://www.dewmocracymediahub.com/
http://www.ruthoutspoken.com/2009/12/17/the-power-of-social-media-and-carbonated-caffeine/
http://mashable.com/2010/01/28/social-media-marketing-pepsi/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Mashable+(Mashable)&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
And then just recently the Reading Eagle, a newspaper from back at home in PA, found out about the whole story and wanted to do a story on me. Friday they had a reporter call me and it will be on page A2 this coming week! So very excited for that!
So That basically explains it all! Keep your eye out for it in April. :)
When you submitted your design it went on Facebook for a multiple day voting period. There were over 200 submissions. The top ten of that voting period would be awarded a 17-inch MacBook Pro and move on to the next level to get voted into the top 3. Here is the link for the voting to get into the top, and the winners: http://apps.facebook.com/dewdesigngallery/ . I had sent out a facebook event to all my friends to spread the word to vote for me. I had been sweating out the voting period because they only showed the top 5 and mine had never made it into the top 5. After the voting period, I would check up multiple times during the day on Mountain Dews facebook to find any indication of the top ten. Then one day, I noticed in one of the discussion boards that a guy said that he received notification via email that he had gotten in the top ten. When I went to go check my email, I had nothing of the sort. At first I was so confused because I knew that God had told me that I was going to get into the top ten. Since I didn't get that email, I already told everyone that I did not make it into the top ten but that I really appreciated them all voting for me. The next day I was just playing around on my computer and I noticed an email in my junk mail folder and decided to go click to see what it was. And there it was. My notification that I had gotten in the top ten. Was I excited? Heck yes I was. I practically tackled my roommate Evie. :) 
