Woman gives up Dr Pepper Twitter handle for 41,000 bottles of water

A Michigan woman recently relinquished her Twitter handle after Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. agreed to send 41,000 bottles of water to Flint, Michigan, in exchange for the social media username.

Diana Hussein, 29, created the Twitter handle @DietDrPepper in 2009. After failing to come up with a more personal username, she looked around her desk and saw a can of Diet Dr. Pepper soda. She referenced the drink in her Twitter name, and it remained the same for more than five years.

During that time, Hussein, a communications specialist from Dearborn, Michigan, reached out to Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc. to ask if they were interested in acquiring the Twitter handle.

"I hadn’t expected anything outside of maybe some free pop," Hussein said.

But it wasn't until January of this year that the company showed any interest.

According to ABC News, Hussein posted about the marketing offer on Facebook, where people encouraged her to negotiate a sale. Hussein said company representatives offered her brand merchandise.

She told them that she wanted the company to donate to Flint instead.

"I had been thinking a lot about Flint at that point," she told ABC News. "I didn't feel there was anything that I was doing. (I thought) maybe I could convince them to do some kind of monetary contribution (to help Flint.) When I found out they owned and distributed (bottles of water), I thought that was a really great opportunity."

"She wasn't trying to come after a monetary value," said Brian Bell, Dr Pepper's public relations manager. "Diana was very straightforward. She was very open and honest with us."

In exchange for her Twitter handle, Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc., which owns Deja Blue, sent $5,000 worth of bottles of water to the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan.

Hussein's new Twitter handle is @HeyaDiana.

Cox Media Group