PepsiCo Marketing Communication Mix
PepsiCo marketing strategy integrates a set of elements of the PepsiCo marketing communication mix as discussed further below. In 2015, PepsiCo increased its spending on advertising and marketing as a percentage of sales by 40 basis points.[1] PepsiCo marketing strategy benefits from the application of creativity and strategic collaborations. For example, in 2015 Lay’s collaborated with renowned artist Malika Favre to develop iconic illustrations for special edition packaging, promotions and activations as part of the brand’s global summer campaign.[2] PepsiCo marketing strategy also relies on celebrity endorsement to a considerable extent. The list of celebrities involved in spreading PepsiCo’s marketing message include but not limited to Usher and Serena Williams, as well as Vine and Snapchat sensation Jerome Jarre.[3]
Advertising
PepsiCo uses print and media advertising extensively as a traditional channel to transmit the marketing message to the target customer segment. PepsiCo print and media advertising occasionally contains comparative campaigns aimed at damaging the brand image of its main competitor – The Coca Cola Company. For example, “One ad shows a happy Pepsi drinker mocking a Coke buyer by telling him, “you’ve still got the polar bear.”[4], thus mocking Coca Cola’s the Christmas Polar Bear campaign.
As it is illustrated in Figure 3 below, although the amount of PepsiCo’s advertising budget did not change significantly during the last three years, the pattern of distribution of this budget has changed. Specifically, taking into account the increasing integration of social media into personal lives of billions of customers around the globe, the company is increasingly investing its advertising dollar for social media advertisements.
PepsiCo’s advertising budget
As a result, PepsiCo has been able to launch a series of successful viral marketing campaigns with an evident positive implications on the brand image. For example, Pepsi Max Test Drive Prank viral video launched in 2012 was watched more than 40 million times on YouTube and a recent. Quaker YouTube video in Canada attracted more than 13 million views.
Sales Promotion
Sales promotions are used by PepsiCo in a number of ways to boost the volume of revenues for short-term perspective. Apart from the application of standard sales promotion tools such as money off coupons, competitions, point of sales materials and loyalty rewards, PepsiCo is known for launching a series of original sales promotions campaigns. For example, in October 2015, PepsiCo released “a new limited edition bottle under the brand name “Pepsi Perfect,” emulating how the brand appeared when it was briefly featured in the 1989 film “Back to the Future Part II.” In that film, a futuristic looking Pepsi bottle is delivered to Michael J. Fox’s character through a tube”[5]. The bottle was made officially available on October 21, the date McFly travelled into the future in the film…
PepsiCo Inc. Report contains more detailed discussion of PepsiCo marketing communication mix and marketing strategy. The report also illustrates the application of the major analytical strategic frameworks in business studies such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s Five Forces, Value Chain analysis and McKinsey 7S Model on PepsiCo. Moreover, the report contains analysis of PepsiCo’s leadership and organizational structure and discusses the issues of corporate social responsibility.
[1] Annual Report (2015) PepsiCo
[2] Annual Report (2015) PepsiCo
[3] Berman, J. (2015) “Pepsi’s Latest Ad Campaign Has Little To Do With Soda” Huffington Post, Available at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/11/new-pepsi-challenge_n_6839230.html
[4] Schultz, E.J. (2015) “Pepsi Ads Take Shot At Share-A-Coke, Polar Bears” Advertising Age, Available at: http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/post-ej-monday-pepsi-ads-shot-share-a-coke-polar-bears/298985/
[5] Kell, J. (2015) “Pepsi goes Back to the Future with new promotion” Fortune, Available at: http://fortune.com/2015/10/05/pepsi-back-to-the-future/