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Dr Pepper character makes Snapchat debut, harmonizing paid and organic content

Dr Pepper has brought its college football personality Larry Culpepper to Snapchat for an immersive campaign, attracting fans in a comedic, millennial-centric mobile push on mobile that balances paid advertising with organic content.  

Dr Pepper Snapple Group has created an active Snapchat handle for campaign character Larry Culpepper, known for selling Dr Pepper products on the sidelines of college football games in video ads. Mr. Culpepper?s presence on Snapchat includes a variety of organic content ranging from video and still images through the My Story feature to paid ads within college football live stories. 

"As the season comes to a close, we wanted to find a way to deepen our connection with millennials," said Jaxie Alt, senior vice president of marketing and sponsorships at Dr Pepper Snapple Group. "The Richards Group is leveraging Snapchat to be the optimal platform for breaking through the clutter and gaining their undivided attention.

"Using Larry?s college football popularity and taking advantage of Snapchat?s engaging audience, we are strategically increasing Dr Pepper?s association with college football fans and enhancing the overall college football viewing experience by providing fans a one of a kind perspective through Snapchat in Arizona," she said. 

Culpepper?s online cultivation
The campaign shows the evolution of Larry Culpepper?s technological advancement, beginning with a digital platform showcasing his computer desktop operated by Windows ?95, transforming into an active Twitter and Snapchat user. The Snapchat account is the campaign?s newest addition, showing Mr. Culpepper?s adventures at games through his perspective from a smartphone. 
The Dr Pepper character is a sideline retailer of the beverage at college football games, and claims to have invented playoffs in a dream after collapsing from heat exhaustion, which he recounts in a video on YouTube.  

On Snapchat Mr. Culpepper exhibits his excitement for the game, sharing footage in real-time while in attendance. For instance, one video showed the character having difficulty while searching for the stadium, soon discovering that it was located directly behind him. 

Dr Pepper has also sponsored the ESPN Snapchat Discover channel, which features video ads of Mr. Culpepper dispersed through the network?s content. These advertisements feature various moments throughout the character?s fight to be able to present the championship trophy through a petition. 


Mr. Culpepper's recounts how he came up with the playoff concept in YouTube video

The video ads promote the Larry Culpepper Snapchat account, which shares similar content complementing the paid advertising. The campaign provides an immersive and entertaining experience for consumers, allowing interested users to easily follow along for more content. 

Snapchat stories
Victoria?s Secret similarly continued last year?s significant push for social media domination by perfecting the art of organic branded content on Snapchat ? this time starring its Angel ambassadors to promote a limited-time sale (see more). 

Many believe that the organic story content on Snapchat is the strategy to take. Originally a user-only space, Snapchat made the leap into advertising last year, with a slew of marketers jumping to connect to the platform's young user base, but without any ascertainable reaction data, brands should not forget its organic story capabilities (see more). 

"Over the course of the season, Larry Culpepper has built a consistent and interactive story that has given fans and followers a reason to engage with our brand," Ms. Alt said. "Our followers have found a new friend in Larry Culpepper, joining him on his quest to present the National Championship Trophy tonight in Glendale.

"With brands being so concerned about organic reach decreasing, especially on platforms like Facebook, Snapchat has given us an intimate way into our millennial target?s daily lives," she said.