Mickey with a Twist: The Joy of Sugar, Songs And Self Esteem - PepsiCo. becomes sponsor of Radio Disney's "The Joy of School Tour" - Brief Article

Brandweek, Jan 22, 2001 by Mike Beirne

Thanks to a tie-in with Radio Disney Pepsi is getting its foot in the door of Chicago public schools as one of the sponsors of Radio Disney AM 1300's "The Joy of School Tour," even though Coca-Cola holds vendor contracts in the school district.

Previously called "The School Tour," the kiddie station sent disc jockeys G-Man and PK the Cosmic DJ to mostly inner city schools for high-energy music and entertainment mixed with motivational messages like "Be passionate about learning," "Be a reader" and "Take care of your mind and body."

Chicago public schools brass liked the program so much, Radio Disney was asked to make more stops. To fund a bigger program, station managers approached the local Pepsi bottler to blend its "Joy of Cola" campaign into the tour, which hits 30 schools this year.

Along with Amoco, Kids WB and local TV station WCIU, sponsors get signage and their logos slapped on lunchbags, stickers and bookmarks, which are given to students. But the tour is not a hawk-and-sell pitch with samples and coupons. The motivational messages are the main thrust with the sponsors getting a thank-you mention by DJs at the end of each visit.

School principals decide when students get Pepsi's new caffeine-free Sierra Mist lemon lime beverage shipped before the Party Patrol arrives.

Program: The Joy of School Tour

Marketer: Radio Disney, AM 1300, Chicago

Key Players: Radio Disney: Karyn Esken, station mgr, Greg Dellinger and Patty Kan, DJs;

Pepsi; Keith Melaragno, up-customer dev;

Amoco: Randy Kuzawa, mgr-adv/mktg;

WCIU Channel 26: Neal Sabin, gm