Post Foods is launching a mobile social competition between Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles to see which is more popular among fans.

Starting in January and through September, Post will be launching digital and mobile competitions, including a mobile microsite, application and Instagram integration. WWE Superstar John Cena will lead the fight for Fruity Pebbles, and NBA All Star Kyrie Irving will promote Cocoa Pebbles.

"Pebbles has always been a fun, tasty part of breakfast," said Sharon Pupel, brand director for Post Pebbles Cereal, Parsippany, NJ. "We wanted to amp up the fun factor with this brand, and rally kids behind their favorite flavor ? Fruity or Cocoa ? with a little friendly competition. 

"With the help of some of our most famous fans, kids will be able to join a team and show their support for their favorite flavor by playing games, winning prizes, and showing off their creativity," she said. "Rewarding our fans for their team spirit gives us the opportunity to see and hear what exactly it is about Pebbles our fans love.

"Any digitally-based campaign today should be mobile-optimized. Pebbles fans are on the go, and our missions are meant to offer a fun and quick reward for interacting with Pebbles cereal."

Choose your side
Consumers will be asked to choose their side and pick Team Fruity or Team Cocoa. They can vote by visiting a soon-to-be-launched mobile-optimized microsite ? teampebbles.com ? and download an interactive app.

The app lets consumers vote for Fruity or Cocoa Pebbles, take photos and play minigames.

Consumers will be asked to complete challenges such as making team spirit items such as pennants out of Pebbles boxes and sharing them through Instagram using their team?s hashtag. The two hashtags are #TeamFruity and #TeamCocoa.

John Cena and Kyrie Irving will announce new missions for consumers to complete.

By completing these challenges, consumers will automatically be entered to win prizes such as gift cards, iPads, or John Cena and Kyrie Irving signed merchandise.

The campaign is meant to engage consumers in a fun and creative way as well as build the brand?s Twitter and Instagram presence.

There is also a charitable aspect to the campaign. When a consumer chooses a team, they will support that team?s charity.

Team Fruity members, Cena and WWE will be raising awareness for Hire Heroes USA, an organization dedicated to creating job opportunities for United States military veterans and their spouses. Team Cocoa members will be supporting the nonprofit Best Buddies, which reaches out to middle schools, high schools and the larger community to help educate people about the unique skills and needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Mobile pebbles
Post Food in general and its cereals have been active on mobile in the past year.

Fruity Pebbles launched a photo-sharing application featuring WWE's John Cena and promoted it on TV ads in June (see story).

Honey Bunches of Oats also delved into mobile this year with a music-themed campaign that simplifies engagement via a mobile-optimized microsite where consumers can upload a video of their dance moves (see story).

Mobile and social are key channels for Post Foods in reaching consumers 24/7.

?In order to grow our brands, Post Foods is committed to giving our fans opportunities to interact with us wherever, whenever,? Ms. Pupel said. ?Mobile and social outlets are where our fans live, and we understand how important it is to give consumers an outlet to share their opinions with us.?

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York