Mountain Dew has taken an alternative approach to drive awareness of its newest flavours for ‘Mountain Dew Flavour Hunt’ activation, created by Curious Nation.
Developed in partnership with 7-Eleven and Finders Keepers Australia, the activation brought to life the launch of two new flavours, Blue Razz Blitz and Typhoon, through a series of real-world, social-first treasure hunts.
Research shows 41 per cent of Gen Z say they are ready to try new snack or drink flavours immediately upon release, the highest of any generation. The Flavour Hunt is a movement for people who chase bold taste, transforming this Mountain Dew launch into flavour quests.
The first ‘Mountain Dew Flavour Hunt’, which introduced Mountain Dew Blue Razz Blitz, saw participants follow teaser clues on social media to track down a hidden $700 cash prize at a Melbourne 7-Eleven location. The latest activation for Mountain Dew Typhoon expanded the concept, sending participants across three Melbourne-based stores in a city-wide hunt for a total of $2,100 in cash.
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The campaign encouraged Gen Z audiences to move from online engagement into physical retail environments, positioning 7-Eleven as a destination for discovery.
The initial hunt delivered strong organic performance, with the Mountain Dew Blue Razz Blitz activation generating more than 2.6 million views and over 13,000 engagements.
The Flavour Hunt platform drove awareness of the new Mountain Dew flavours, encouraged sampling and leveraged the excitement to seek and find new experiences that linked back to 7-Eleven stores.
“We wanted to create genuine excitement around these new flavour launches and give people a reason to seek them out in-store. The Flavour Hunt concept allowed us to connect cultural behaviour with retail in a way that felt natural and engaging,” said Asahi Beverages shopper marketing manager Jess Smyth.
“We were excited to work with Mountain Dew to bring this campaign to life. Instead of treating the flavour launch like a broadcast moment, we treated it like a discovery mechanic. Gen Z audiences are already conditioned by social-first hunt formats that reward speed, curiosity and participation. So rather than interrupting behaviour, we built around one that already existed,” said Curious Nation co-founder and head of strategy Gareth Brock.
“Retail launches often feel manufactured. The hype is announced before it is earned. This campaign flipped that dynamic by turning the product release into something people could participate in physically and socially at the same time. The result was not just awareness, but action, driving audiences from content directly into store”.
