Joester Loria Expands Pepsi Brand Product ProgramsThe Joester Loria Group, exclusive

licensing agency for PepsiCo in NorthAmerica, has announced a series of newdeals for the Pepsi, SoBe and MountainDew hrands.

"A key focus, as we continue to expandPepsiCo's licensing programs, is to securelicensing partners that can increase brandpresence in mainstream retail as well aswork with us on select hrand integrationinitiatives that deliver huzz and generateconsumer excitement," says Joanne Loria,executive vice president and chief operatingofficer, JLG.

A new multi-platform partnership withDynasty Apparel will include new Pepsivintage apparel collections featuringgraphics from Pepsi archives dating backmore than 100 years, with an emphasis oniconic nostalgia artwork from the '80s and'90s, says Loria.

A SoBe apparel collection that will

capture the brand's roots in sunny SouthBeach on tees, tanks and fleece for men,juniors and women is also on deck, as is aMountain Dew line that will focus on thesoft drink's connection to music and sportscultures.

The Pepsi and Mountain Dew collectionswill also feature augmented reality tie-insthat will showcase brand-unique contentsuch as Pepsi Max's Uncle Drew character,whose videos have racked up more than 13million views.

"This [initiative] is a great way totranslate the brand and extend what Pepsiis currently doing with its marketing. We'venever really been able to extend whatpeople are currently seeing, but we arenow," says Jessica Wichard, senior directorof retail and marketing, JLG.

Mountain Dew will also be debuting itsnew vintage Hillbilly collection with onlineretailer Fanatics, and will feature tees,tanks, dresses, fleece tops and bottoms formen, young men and juniors.

The line will be available on Fanatics'dedicated e-commerce site and other onlinepartners, including Amazon, this fall.

"PepsiCo is really known for stayingon the cutting edge of pop culture andtrends-our goal across all brands is tomove quickly to deliver new programs withpartners who live in the trend space anduse their expertise to create products thatare always relevant," says Loria.

Coca-Cola Partners with will.i.am for Eco BrandMusician will.i.am and The Coca-Cola

Company have teamed up with a varietyof other iconic brands to launch Ekocycle,a new lifestyle label designed to promoterecycling by creating co-branded productsmade from recycled materials.

will.i.am approached Coca-Cola withthe idea in 2008 after finding out thatthe beverage company had the biggestrecycling plant in North Carolina. Fouryears later, the idea has come to fruition.

"With the Ekocycle brand, I'm on amission to educate and inspire consumersaround the globe to seek out moresustainable lifestyle choices that willultimately play a part in the movementtoward a world with zero waste," sayswill.i.am. "By making products that containrecycled materials more attractive to bothbusinesses and consumers, everyone can

do their part to keep the cycle going to turndiscarded waste into cool, new items."

Among the first items to be releasedunder the Ekocycle label are headphonesfrom Beats by Dr. Dre (available thisfall) and hats by New Era (available inearly 2013), both of which are made fromrecycled materials including aluminum andplastic.

Additional products and partners will beannounced in the coming months, whichwill.i.am says will include products likeglasses, shoes and bags.

But Ekocycle is more than a new brand.It's a.n initiative designed to promotechange. To that end, Ekocycle has alsopartnered with the U.S. recycling directoryEarth911 to provide a recycling databasefor consumers, and Coca-Cola has pledgedto donate a minimum of $1 million from

licensing profits tosupport recyclingover the next fiveyears.

"The Ekocyclebrand initiativeis a platformthat alignswith ourvision of zerowaste andour focus onsustainability,"says Bea Perez, vice president andchief sustainability officer. The Coca-ColaCompany. "Together with will.i.am, we willpromote recycling in a unique way withother well-known brands to create lifestyleproducts that consumers worldwidedesire."

12 www.licensemag.com August 2012

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