Pepsi?s Brisk Iced Tea has partnered with film studio Lucasfilm to roll out a mobile gaming application as part of its multichannel marketing plan for the upcoming "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" 3D film.

The Brisksaber app complements the campaign?s other marketing initiatives, which include television spots, special product packaging, radio and mobile advertising. Pepsi is working with agency Mekanism on this initiative.

?Mobile gaming is so hot right now, and it is also a great way for fans to engage with Star Wars,? said Eric Fuller, brand director for Pepsi?s Brisk Iced Tea, New York.

?Our goal is to find meaningful ways to engage with our consumers, and over the past two years, Brisk has aggressively pursued cutting-edge digital and social endeavors and partnerships in order to bring real value to consumers,? he said.

Mobile cap
The Brisk and Star Wars campaign is running until April 30 and is aimed at millennial consumers ages 18-29.

The Brisksaber app is available for iPhone and Android devices and lets consumers use their finger as a lightsaber to fight characters from the Star Wars series.

After downloading the app, the main mobile incentive of the campaign is getting users to unlock additional content from other media channels.

For example, consumers are encouraged to unlock additional content by entering special codes that are found on the inside of Brisk products with Star Wars-themed labels.

To redeem the codes, gamers can type uncaptheapp.com (uncaptheapp.com) into their mobile browser.

Mobile content can also be unlocked and shared by visiting Brisk?s Facebook page. Starting Jan. 15, users who watch a 30-second video clip can find Easter eggs throughout the video with codes to upgrade their games.

Additionally, Android users can also unlock content from passing different levels inside the game.

As new content is added, users can choose to receive push notifications via the app.

To incorporate the Brisk brand into the game, bottles of iced tea are displayed throughout the app and the Brisk logo is splashed across the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

Here is the mobile site where users can redeem Brisk rewards

Mobile cup of tea
The Brisk and Star Wars campaign is a great example of how marketers can tie a high-budget, multichannel campaigns to mobile. 

By spreading the mobile message via product packaging and mobile calls to action in video, Brisk is able to leverage its existing marketing efforts and promote the mobile aspect to consumers who might not be aware of the gaming app.

Mobile gaming is a huge up-and-coming trend and offers consumers a way to interact with a brand in an engaging way.

Most recently, video game company Harmonix used a mobile app to give users a sneak peak of the new game Dance Central 2 (see story).

?The genesis of the game really came out of the insight that people love lightsabers ? Star Wars fans and non-fans alike,? said Ian Kovalik, executive creative director at Mekanism, San Francisco.

?We view the explosion of smartphones and tablets as a network waiting to happen for Brisk, and every consumer that installs Brisksaber becomes someone we can message to for the long haul simply because the app resides on their smartphone or tablet,? he said. 

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York