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E x c h a n g e o f I d e a s | May/June 2010 | $10.95

A p u b l i c a t i o n o f R e v e r i e s . c o m a n d C o o l N e w s o f t h e D a y

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THE HUB MAY/JUNE 2010

Its like thePepsi Challenge

but for the digitalgeneration, saysCMO Jill Beraud.

COVER STORY

That something different was about to happen at Pepsi became apparent in late

October of 2008, when it unfurled its quirky new logo. It was circular, and

red, white and blue like the old logo, but the white band in its midriff was

now positioned at a rakish, gaping angle and looked like a smile.

Almost instantly, billboards featured the logo in place of the letter O in

cheery words like WOW, HOORAY and FABULOUS. Some people loved it, others didnt,

but the possibility that this logo might come to represent something more than a soft

drink wasnt on anyones mind.

It is now. With the announcement of its very own $20 million

public-grants initiative (see sidebar), Pepsi signaled its

intention to make its brand stand for something greater than

just an alternative to Coke. It also pointed toward a new

model of marketing communications that really and

truly engages shoppers, retailers and the brand in a

long-term conversation about how to make the world

a better place, one neighborhood at a time.

That sounds corny until you spend a little time online with the Pepsi Refresh

Project, as the initiative is known. In fact, before you do another thing, you

need to put down this magazine and visit refresheverything.com. We dont want to

see you back here until youve voted for at least 10 projects (and bully for you if

you also nominate a project of your own).

Now that you have a sense of what Pepsi is talking about, it shouldnt sound unreasonable

to suggest that the logo and what it now represents might not only change how shoppers

and retailers think about Pepsi, but also how marketers think about marketing.

Its no longer about logos, commercials and brand benets in the usual sense. Its about

a collective conversation and integrating the brand experience with a larger purpose.

Thats the direction now taking shape at PepsiCo Beverages Americas, led by Jill Beraud,

its chief marketing ofcer and president, joint-ventures.

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But is there a particular audience that

youre going after with Pepsi Refresh?

Pepsi has always been about the new generation.

We think about this as the Pepsi Challenge for the digital

generation. This is going to be as big, if not bigger. One

of the great surprises is that it is so appealing to every

cohort group and across every state across the country.

If you look at who has submitted ideas, its across

every age group: its Boomers, Millennials and GenXers. Everybody is part icipating. This is not about an

age; this is real ly about an attitude.

How did you come to understand that attitude?

We are constantly talking to our consumers. One

of the exciting parts of this new, digital, social-media

craze is that there are so many different access points

to consumers. There is obviously traditional research,

but were always tapping into trying to understand

what consumers are thinking about. We have

different ways of tapping into that, including social

media as well as various other techniques.

Have any surprising insights

emerged since the campaign began?

One of the things that really astounded us is how

viral this has become. During our rst submission

window, it took three days to reach our goal. With our

second submission window, it took 16 hours. We just

closed our third submission window, and it took under

an hour to reach our goal. So, the biggest insight was

that this was even bigger than we thought.

Have you noticed any interesting patterns in

the kinds of projects that people are proposing?

We have six different categories for submissions,

and we expected one of the six to pop more than the

others. But its really consistent across al l six groups.

Theres just such a passion around all of these ideas.

Every day a new idea comes up that I get excited

about. What excites me is that every month we get

to support 32 ideas and create positive change at the

local level.

What were some of the insights that

led you to the Pepsi Refresh Project?

Number one was just the overarching

insight that consumers dont want a one-

way dialogue anymore. They are much

more participatory in brands and really

want to share in the experience and

inuence the experience of brands. They

are very interested in what brands standfor; its not just what brands sell, but

whats behind a brand.

Those two insights together made us

think about making Pepsi Refresh more

interactive. Its similar to what we did with

DEWmocracy, where we basically co-created

brands with consumers and had them

pick the formulas, the names, and

the graphics.

It was so effective that it reinforced

this new insight about consumers that

they want a dialogue with brands and

to participate in the brands. That was

the rst insight. The second insight is

that consumers want to know what a

brand stands for. Pepsi has, and always

will, embody and fuel the spirit and

optimism of youth.

When you say consumers whom

are you talking about exactly?

Most people think its just Millennials,

but it actually cuts across multiple cohorts.

The most quoted fact is that 86 percent of

Millennials will choose a charitable company

over one thats not. But 76 percent of female

Boomers say the same thing.

Is there a special resonance with

Pepsi Refresh among women?

Its really women and men. This is not

appealing to only one cohort group. Thats

the beauty of this program.

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Thats very signicant. Were not just helping one

organization, or one idea; were really creating change

on a very big scale, but at a local level.

What else has impressed you so far?

Whats impressed me is how much its connected

not just our consumers, but also our employees, bottlers,

and customers.

It enables us to have our brand stand for something

unique, but also to customize programs for retailers.

So, many of our customers have a unique Pepsi Refresh

program that we co-op with them.

How have you involved retailers in the project?

All of our reta ilers have been so interested in

this program because its easy to customize. So, eachretailer can have its own Pepsi Refresh program and

engage its own shoppers.

Safeway, for example, is having a separate Pepsi

Refresh program where they focus on different topics

each month. One month they are going to ask all of

their shoppers for the best ideas in education and the

next month they are going to ask for the best ideas in

health, and so on. So, each of our customers can tai lor

things in a unique way.

Where does shopper marketing t in?

We have local activation in-store, but again, each

customer will tai lor the program to their shoppersand obviously shopper insights will help dr ive each of

these customized programs. This is becoming more

and more important, as you know.

Is shopper marketing any different

from old-fashioned sales promotion?

Its signicantly more sophisticated than just

promotions. Its a much more robust view of marketing.

Its driving consumer insights through nuanced

customer programs and packaging, by channel.

Do you see a difference between

consumers and shoppers?It depends on the brand and the channel. With

some of our brands, like Diet Pepsi, the shopper is the

consumer. With Gatorade, well have mom in a grocery

store shopping for Gatorade but shes purchasing it

for her athletic son. In the convenience channel, the

millennial guy will be purchasing a Mountain Dew.

So, therefore the shopper will be the consumer.

Is there a difference in mindset

between consumers and shoppers?

I think its evolved. The shopper today is different

than the shopper several years ago. When consumers

and shoppers are one and the same, they do more to

prepare for shopping and are more engaged prior to

the actual shopping experience.

Is shopper marketing more

about sales or marketing?

I dont think you can separate the two. The most

effective marketer and the best brands are those that

can build brand equity and dr ive sales.

Do you think that shopper

marketing is here to stay?The importance of shopper marketing continues to

grow and grow and the capabilities that are necessary

in shopper marketing continue to become more and

more sophisticated. Shopper marketing is par t of any

marketers career path within PepsiCo.

Who actually leads the conversation

Pepsi or its shoppers?

With the Pepsi Refresh Project, we started the

dialogue because we created the subject. But if you

go on the website it is absolutely a two-way dialogue.

I would take it one step further and say that it has

become a community dialogue. The conversation isnot just between Pepsi and a consumer, its between a

Pepsi drinker and a Pepsi drinker. Its really about the

community.

Why do you include celebrities in

a conversation among ordinary people?

Celebrities have always been a part of Pepsis DNA.

And the truth is they got us a lot of publicity initially. At

the same time, just the idea of doing the Pepsi Refresh

Project is getting us so much earned media and attention.

But frankly we have so many celebrities who are

calling us and wanting to be involved in the program

as ordinary people not as celebrities which is very

rewarding to us.

Could the same concept be applied to

help refresh the Pepsi brand itself?

Stay tuned. Absolutely. Its something that were

considering as Pepsi Refresh evolves. We are going to

continue to build on this as an idea. This program has

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Bo t t l ing Op t imi sm

O

ur idea was that this year wed try to shif t the

marketing and communications to something

thats truly walking the walk, says Lee Clow,chief creative ofcer of TBWA Worldwide, explaining

the thinking behind the Pepsi Refresh Project.

The idea, he continues, is to develop a mechanism

for young people to create ideas to make things

better, adding that this will ultimately become part

of the global behav ior of the brand.

Specically, Pepsi is dedicating at least $20 million

through the end of the year for donations to local

organizations and causes supported by the public in

realms like health, arts and culture, the environment

and education. Consumers can participate by visit ing

a Pepsi website, refresheverything.com, and both

so many legs and were getting such great ideas from

consumers. Its denitely something were considering.

What is the connection between this

program and the new Pepsi logo?

The idea is to refresh the brand and create an

optimistic view. So, it was all about optimism. We

seeded the idea with the new logo and the PepsiRefresh program is about activating the idea.

Some say theres a similarity

between the Obama and Pepsi logos.

If you look at it over the last 100 years, Pepsis

logo has always been red, white and blue. This logo

has roots in our heritage and our history.

Is there a connection to Obamas message?

The general notion in America of needing and

wanting to believe in the bigger idea is something that

Obama spoke about, and Pepsi has always believed

in being a catalyst for change. I think we both

capitalized on that same idea.

How do you see the Refresh

Project evolving over time?

Were at the very beginning, so were going to be

challenged in keeping it fresh and interesting. And were

evolving those ideas as we speak because this is not a

promotion; its an ongoing strategy. Were seeing what

things consumers respond to and well probably get them

involved in the dialogue as to how to refresh the program.

Will the Refresh concept

translate overseas?

Absolutely. In fact, I just got back from a global

senior-management meeting where we discussedintroducing this program in Asia, the Middle East

and Europe. We want to make sure that we have the

infrastructure ready to do that, but they are very

excited about rolling this program out. By the end of

the year we will begin to do that.

Do you have a personal pet project

or cause that you support?

On a personal level, outside of PepsiCo, Im on the

board of an organization called World of Children, a

global organizat ion that recognizes people who help

children around the world.

So, its actually like the Nobel Prize for people

who do great things for chi ldren. Ive always cared

about children and helping children in need because

they cant help themselves.

How hard was it to sit out the Super Bowl?

It was an effective strategy. The spirit of the

program was impacting positive change, so we

submit as well as vote on cause-related ideas. Top

vote-getters will receive grants of varying sizes.

While Pepsis initiative is backed by television

commercials and other advertising, it also uses social

media like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word.

Gene Liebel of Huge, a Pepsi agency for online media,

says the use of soc ial media shows how a big brand

is letting what used to be called the audience take

part in what can become a movement.

Pepsi is also sponsoring a reality show,If I Can Dream,

on Hulu.com, which Hulus Jean-Paul Colaco says

amplies Pepsis advertising by making it something

people talk about, more of a soc ial conversation.

[Source: Stuart Elliott, The New York Times, 2/1/10]


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wanted to be consistent with that message.

You know, it was so controversial. We broke

23 years of history and really raised eyebrows, but

actually we ended up getting more buzz about notadvertising during the Super Bowl.

We had much more buzz in the months leading

up to the Super Bowl than any other brand that

advertised in the game. We had ten times more buzz

than Coke.

Do you see this shift from traditional

to social media as permanent?

There is a huge shift to social media, but I dont

think its at the expense of traditional media. The role

of traditional media has changed, but it hasnt been

eliminated. I th ink it all works together in a very

powerful way.

So, traditional media still work

as well as they used to?

Absolutely. Do you remember when Victorias Secret

launched its e-commerce site and had a fashion show

on the internet? We advertised that on TV. Traditional

and social media really reinforce one another.

Its been a mix of both for the Pepsi Refresh Project.

The rst two weeks we were very heavy in TV. We

continue to do TV and encourage people to vote and

get involved. But Facebook and Twitter are also such

powerful tools to get consumers engaged in the program.

Is there a way to measure that power?

We can track how many consumers come through

Facebook. We have a phenomenal relationship with

Facebook and have doubled our Facebook friends just

in the rst month. We are going to continue to evolve

what we do with Facebook and create even more

innovative programs with them and others.

Are you on Facebook or Twitter

yourself, personally?

I absolutely have a Facebook page. If youre going

to be a good marketer today you have to experiencewhat consumers are experiencing.

What have you learned from that?

How its almost another world. It is its own

community with its own language and its own

experience. And its so much fun. I always end up

spending four or ve times more time on Facebook

than I ever planned to.

Are you also hooked on Twitter?

Im more hooked on Facebook right now.

Will the Refresh Project change Pepsis image?Pepsi has always been about a great tasting

beverage and weve always been viewed as being

innovative, fun and exper imental. This is reinforcing

that we are at the cutting edge of culture, innovation

and fun.

Is the goal more about image than sales?

Its about connecting with consumers and the whole

consumer engagement model. When you have that great

connection with consumers, you drive loyalty.

But you expect a quantiable

result of some kind.

Absolutely. And, frankly, since the beginning

of the year weve had really terr ic share gains. So,

there are a lot of ways of measuring the success of

this program.

You must be building an incredible database.

No question, but its not just about having a

database; its about having meaningful conversations

with consumers. So, its not just about the number of

people we reach, but the quality of the engagement.

How might that databasebe helpful in the future?

The more we engage with our consumers, the

more they want to engage with us. The more feedback

we get and the more meaningful the conversation is,

the tighter the bond with our consumers.

What is your greatest hope

for the Refresh Project?

We want to impact local communities and thats

what were seeing. Were excited about continuing to

build Pepsis brand equity and to impact our communities

and our customers communities in a positive way. n

JILL BERAUD is chief marketing

ofcer and president-joint ventures

for PepsiCo Beverages Americas.

Previously, she was CMO of Victorias

Secret and began her career at

Procter & Gamble.

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