For this year’s sponsorship of the Honda Indy in Toronto, Dr Pepper is placing emphasis on brand engagement with new on-site activations and a Facebook contest where one fan can win a trip for two to the street event.

“We’ve always used the Honda Indy to get people to try Dr Pepper, but this year we really wanted to look at how we could increase consumer engagement and make our sampling activities align with our ‘Always One of a Kind’ brand positioning,” Alison Bing, manager, corporate affairs, Canada Dry Mott’s, tells MiC.

This is the brand’s third year sponsoring the annual street course event, but the 2012 activations will give consumers new ways to engage with the brand on-site, including the Always One of a Kind Diner sampling station at the Dr Pepper Grandstand (where consumers can watch the races). There will also be a motorized Dr Pepper Cooler Can that fans can use to challenge their friends in a race.

The “Win Your Way to Honda Indy Toronto” contest, which launched June 14 and will run until June 28, is asking consumers to like the brand’s Facebook application to be entered into the draw.

The on-site activation, targeting youth aged 18 to 25 in Toronto and across Canada, is being executed by Toronto-based Boom! Marketing. The brand will continue successful promotions from previous years, including giving attendees in the Dr Pepper Grandstand access to Dr Pepper prizing, as well as seat-side service of the brand’s beverages, Bing adds.