Britvic is to launch a £1m summer marketing campaign to push sales of its Lipton Ice Tea brand. The drink fits into the ’Cold Hot Drink’ category, which Britvic said is the fastest-growing sub-category, up 123% in volume (data: Nielsen Scantrack Total Coverage MAT 16.04.11).

Jon Evans, head of seed brands at Britvic, said the soft drinks manufacturer is convinced that this category is on the up. He said that despite the fact Lipton is a brand that’s driving some of the growth in this category, there is a perception barrier, which stops consumers initially trying the drink. To try and conquer this, the main thrust of Britvic’s Lipton Ice Tea campaign is sampling, hence the ’Don’t knock it, until you’ve tried it’ strapline.

From this month, Britvic has been sending out its Lipton Ice Tea team around the country, handing out one million samples to consumers. The second part of its direct-to-consumer activity will see Britvic set up ’knokkers’ games and sampling stations around nine of the UK’s largest city centres and parks. Each day the best Lipon Ice Tea ambassadors, found via sampling, will be awarded £250-worth of Red Letter Day vouchers.

Britvic said the growth of ice tea has doubled in the past few years, with Lipton growing at 93% year-on-year. Lipton Ice Tea is available in a 500ml PET in lemon and peach flavours