Earlier today, Ben & Jerry’s announced their most recent attempt to capture the next euphoric flavor combination. Their new “City Churned” campaign will soon be rolling into Washington D.C., San Francisco, New York City, Portland and Seattle. According to the press release Ben & Jerry’s will be combining, “tweets, traffic, landmarks and input from local residents to crowdsource a local flavor.” Their famous Scoop Truck will make its way into each city and visit the places that make each individual city unique. Over several weeks, they will gather information in order to further familiarize themselves with what the citizens of each city are looking for. Dave Stever, Ben & Jerry’s Director of Marketing, says, “Name a city and you feel a pulse that is individual to that hub. There's a personality to each location that is distinctive unto itself. We're going to give our fans something we’ve never given them before: a chance to mix up an ice cream as unique as that city's own flavor.” Check out www.Citychurned.com for more information and read the rest of the press release below:
For example, in D.C. Ben & Jerry’s filmed and tracked city joggers to help decide between the ingredients peppermint and marshmallow. Northbound jogging traffic along the Potomac became votes for marshmallow, while southbound joggers counted as votes for peppermint. In New York, on-time subway trains will count as votes for either waffle cone pieces or Spoonable Caramel, depending on the subway line. In Seattle, support for Fairtrade Chocolate or Fairtrade Vanilla will, in part, be determined by the number of plaid vs. plain shirts filmed on city streets.
Fans who aren’t present at the filming locations can also weigh in on each ingredient match-up by voting online on the “City Churned” microsite. They can also put their creativity to the test by submitting their original ideas for the flavor name. In each market, the campaign will conclude with a community event where for one day only the flavor will be tasted and celebrated by the local fans that helped develop it.
To ensure that these “City Churned” flavors are a tribute to the cities themselves, Ben & Jerry’s is partnering with local business to source local ingredients. Companies include Divine Chocolate, Route 11 Chips, Sixpoint Brewery, Spoonable Caramel, Liddabit Sweets, TCHO Chocolate, Kika’s Treats, Rogue Ales, Portland Roasting Coffee, Theo Chocolates and Caffé Vita.
The campaign will officially kick off in each market when the beloved Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Truck rolls into each city as part of its East and West Coast "Scoop Truck" sampling tour. Consumers can also cast their “City Churned” ballots at select Scoop Truck scooping locations simply by tossing their spoons into recycling bins listed for Caramel or Fudge. Touring the west and east coast for the third summer, the Scoop Truck is still delivering frozen treats for tweets. This year, it is dishing out Ben & Jerry’s Greek Frozen Yogurt and in “City Churned” markets it will help facilitate local voting. Follow the Scoop Truck's winding path on Twitter @BenJerrysTruck (on the East Coast) and @BenJerrysWest (on the West Coast).