One Nation, Under Slurpee(R)

By: 7-Eleven | 4 Shares 194 Reads

America's Favorite Frozen Drink Gets Cool, New Interactive Website

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--If Slurpee Nation were a real country, it would be a really cool one. 7-Eleven, Inc.'s website about its iconic frozen carbonated beverage – www.slurpee.com – just got cooler. The redesigned site includes interactive features, giving Slurpee®-drink lovers around the globe the opportunity to post messages, and share photos and videos featuring their favorite frozen beverage.

The site was renamed Slurpee Nation to reflect the tone and feeling of the new design. After the redesigned www.slurpee.com went live in April, traffic to the site steadily began to grow and by May, page hits were nine times what they were in January 2008.

"Slurpee drinkers see themselves as unapologetically nonconformists," said Evan Brody, 7-Eleven marketing manager for Slurpee and fountain beverages. "They didn't really have a place to congregate, and Slurpee Nation creates a virtual lounge or club where they share Slurpee experiences through message boards, photos and videos."

The Integer Group® in Dallas, part of the FreshWorks consortium of advertising and marketing agencies that handles the 7-Eleven account, won the assignment earlier this year and unveiled Slurpee Nation on April 1 to coincide with the promotion planned around the premiere of the "Iron Man" movie.

The redesign included all new site architecture, navigation, creative content, artwork, animated elements and thematics.

"Slurpee Nation is the very essence of what Integer delivers to clients every day – creativity that lives at the intersection of branding and selling," said Bob Robinson, Integer executive creative director. "We took one of the world's most iconic brands and created an online experience that engages and drives our teen target to respond."

A Slurpee Nation "manifesto" was created, which reads in part: "Bound by our devotion to the world's coolest drink, we are vast. Diverse. And as colorful as a rainbow Slurpee. … We extend our ice-cold hand with pride to all those who seek more from life. To that special band of individuals known as Slurpee Nation."

"We took all the content elements and 'Slurpify-ed' them," stated Patrick Kiker, Interactive account director who oversees the project at Integer. "Slurpee has a culture and personality all its own, and the web site needed to reflect that unique attitude. I think the voice and spirit of Slurpee Nation turned out really cool."

The overarching objective was to create engaging, interactive content to increase a visitor's length of stay on the site. Some of the site hot spots include:

The Slurpee Story – Corporate histories typically are dry and boring, and are of little interest to visitors to the company's web page. Not so on slurpee.com. The Slurpee Story, a short animated flash movie, featuring clip art animation and a retro announcer voice, is the third most-viewed page on the site after the featured flavor and promotion.

Slurpee Cred – This game tests visitors knowledge of little known facts and trivia about America's favorite frozen carbonated drink.

Slurpee Shoppee – The e-store opened for business May 16 with t-shirts that sport slogans like "Slurpee Kicks A** (picture of a donkey)," "Avoid Scurvy, Drink a Slurpee" and "Tastes Great, Less Feeling."

Flavor Machine Page – An interactive Slurpee machine allows users to explore featured and favorite flavors and includes nutritional information and clever descriptions.

Flavor Cold Storage – A new tongue-in-frozen-cheek element with a flying penguin that drops flavors that have bombed. Viewers can explore Slurpee flavors that never were or shouldn't have been.

From 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., the sun goes down on the Slurpee Nation skyline, when floating clouds are replaced by twinkley stars in a darkened midnight blue sky.

"Slurpee was born with an eclectic and strange personality," Brody said. "If the soda fountain drink represented the clean-cut 1950s, then Slurpee was the rebellious and irreverent beverage of the psychedelic 1960s. Its fans have always been a bit different."

In 2004, 7-Eleven introduced a web site devoted exclusively to the convenience leader's most recognized brand. "The first website answered our needs at the time, but it essentially only allowed one-way conversations – us to Slurpee drinkers," Brody said. "The new Slurpee Nation offers up a three-way conversation – we can tell Slurpee lovers about new flavors and fun stuff, they can tell us what they like and what they want, and the best part, Slurpee-lovers can talk to each other."

About 7-Eleven, Inc.

7-Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience retailing industry. Based in Dallas, Texas, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses approximately 7,600 7-Eleven® stores in North America. Globally, 7-Eleven operates, franchises or licenses more than 34,300 stores in 14 countries. During 2007, 7-Eleven stores worldwide generated total sales of more than $46.6 billion. Named the #1 Franchise Opportunity for 2008 by Entrepreneur magazine, 7-Eleven is franchising virtually all of its stores in the U.S., and is expanding through its Business Conversion Program, acquisitions, building new and leasing existing properties. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com.

About The Integer Group

The Integer Group (www.integer.com) is one of America's largest promotional and retail marketing agencies. The Integer Group resides at the intersection of branding and selling and creates strategic marketing solutions for clients in categories that include beverage, packaged goods, telecommunications, fast food, home and shelter, and power sports.

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