As September rolled to a close, social media and news streams were buzzing about a recent voluntary initiative involving three major beverage companies.
The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo & Dr Pepper Snapple Group, in partnership with The Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Beverage Association, publicized a collaborative effort. They’ve deemed it “The Balance Calories Initiative,” and its mission is to reduce the number of beverage calories consumed by Americans by 20% over the next 10 years.
At the core of this initiative is Mixify, a youth- and family-targeted campaign that energetically encourages Americans to strike a healthy balance in what they choose to eat, drink and do. The website, mymixify.com, houses a variety of resources for visitors – including an “Ask The Experts” page” and links to external tools and tips.
Voluntary vs. Government Regulated Efforts
A centerpiece of Mixify discussions is the sentiment covered in an article from The Associated Press. Mixify marks a shift in American Beverage Association’s efforts from politically driven to voluntary. While the ABA generally campaigns against tax threats and other efforts to “reduce consumption of sugary drinks,” Mixify is targeting the general public instead, already airing TV spots nationally.
President of the American Beverage Association, Susan Neely, stated in the organization’s press release that this is the “single-largest voluntary effort by an industry to help fight obesity.” The initiative hinges on the marketing, innovation and distribution efforts of the beverage companies. Over time, the beverage companies will “retain an independent, third-party evaluator to track progress and interim benchmarks toward their commitments.” The press release continues with examples of how the beverage brands will promote their bottled water products to replace soda consumption, such as providing coupons for the calorie-free selections and repositioning products to showcase low-calorie items.
Digital Reactions to Mixify
Even though the Mixify effort is in its early days, reactions are quickly growing via social media channels. As Switch™ monitored these reactions, we revealed a primarily neutral sentiment (78%) on Mixify across social media, with posts discussing the campaign itself and the facts behind it. Positive posts (15%) discuss how mymixify.com is a great resource for parents and teens. They also praise the alliance between the big-name soda companies. On the negative side (7%), people have sarcastically called out the campaign’s emphasis on balance with comments like “do little exercise, still drink soda and you’ll be ok.”
The hashtag #mymixify – promoted by Mixify’s Twitter, YouTube and Instagram accounts – is gaining momentum. Consumers using the hashtag are chiming in about balance and the campaign in general. Bloggers are also on the case, discussing the soda companies’ aim to reduce calories in drinks and highlighting the initiative’s upcoming efforts on a local scale.
We are eager to see this initiative pan out over the next decade. How might public sentiment fluctuate? Will future laws fast-track the progress? In the meantime, keep an eye out for Mifixy commercials and an increased emphasis on low-cal beverages. 2025 will be here before we know it.
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