Nowadays it’s difficult to find an
integrated marketing campaign that doesn’t include social media. If used
correctly, it can be an effective way to generate awareness and connect with consumers
on a personal level. While social media can help new businesses establish
themselves, it can be an even more powerful tool for existing companies looking
to launch a new product line.
A recent example of a brand that
successfully used social media to launch their new product line is Pepsi. While
the soda company has continuously had a strong online presence, they are
probably best known for hosting the Pepsi Taste Challenge, a sampling event
that challenges consumers across the country to see if they can taste the
difference between Pepsi and Coca-Cola. This has been a huge success for Pepsi.
Not only does it give consumers the chance to taste the brand’s product, but it
also gives them an opportunity to show their support for the company.
So how do you move this type of sampling
campaign into the digital age? Well, with the help of ad agency, The Barbarian
Group, Pepsi launched the “Drink it to Believe it” campaign and created an
online taste test to launch Pepsi NEXT.
To increase trial and generate buzz for the
new product line, Pepsi teamed up with the popular website, Funny or Die, to
create the Internet Taste Test. Users were invited to register for the Internet
Taste Test on Pepsi NEXT’s Facebook page for a chance to watch themselves “taste”
the new beverage through Funny or Die comedians. After analyzing consumers’
Facebook profiles, these comedians improvised what they thought these users’
experiences would look like trying Pepsi NEXT for the first time. These videos
were posted on Pepsi NEXT’s Facebook page, as well as on Pepsi’s YouTube
channel. To launch the campaign and get users familiar with the concept, Pepsi
released a video featuring comedian, Rob Riggle, watching an impersonated version
of himself trying the beverage. Pepsi also purchased online advertising to
promote the campaign.
One of the impersonated videos from the “Drink it to
Believe it” Internet Taste Test Campaign.
The campaign was a success and helped Pepsi
NEXT reach over 70 million people in eight weeks. In addition to this, 480
fan-inspired videos were uploaded to Pepsi’s YouTube account, and the launch
video received more than two million views. Pepsi NEXT also gained
earned media, as users posted the impersonated videos of themselves across
their social media platforms, helping further spread the brand’s message. This
helped Pepsi’s online presence grow faster than it ever had before.
While it’s important for companies not to recycle old campaigns, I think Pepsi was able to successfully
transform their famous Pepsi Taste Challenge into the digital age. They were
able to capitalize on a campaign that has already worked well for them in the
past by putting a digital spin on it. The success of the campaign shows that
Pepsi understands both their positioning in the beverage market and also what appeals to their target market. They’ve always been known as the
youthful, fun, and vibrant soda company that young people enjoy. By partnering
with Funny or Die, they were able to further instil their brand personality
while appealing to their target market. In addition to understanding that humour
was the best approach to take to reach their target audience, they also understood
that consumers would react best to personalized messages. While they faced the risk
of insulting consumers and potentially harming the Pepsi brand, they were able
to conduct enough research to know that their target audience would respond
well to the campaign.
Pepsi was able to captivate their audience
during the launch of Pepsi NEXT; however, the next challenge will be to engage consumers
once the beverage line becomes well-known and established. Personalized
messages are a unique way to create memorable advertising, but once the novelty
wears off, consumers’ attention may go elsewhere. In the future, Pepsi NEXT
will have to be smart in their social media strategies if they hope to continue
to reach their target audience, otherwise consumers may choose Coca-Cola in a taste test.
Source: http://barbariangroup.com/2012/11/pepsi-next/
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