The Buffalo Blog

Pepsi benches superbowl for $20m cause marketing initiative

The news that PepsiCo dropped their prime time Super Bowl opening ad slot came as quite a shock. Not only will this be the first time in 23 years the infamous Super Bowl will not have one single ad promoting Pepsi, but also the drinks giant will be taking an uncertain gamble by trading it for a $20 million social media campaign.

From what we have all seen in the way of successful social media campaigns in 2009, this transition may prove positive for a brand that has been decidedly disjointed in its recent marketing. The move could show the extensive possibilities social media can open up to Pepsi and others alike.

Unlike rival, Coca-Cola, Pepsi spends almost all of its advertising budget on TV slots and with only 250,000 (actively engaged) facebook fans compared to Coke’s 4 million plus, bosses must have been on the edge of their seats when agreeing the deal.

To implement the new strategy, Pepsi will go full throttle into the increasingly growing field of cause marketing where the company aims to build two-way communication (an updated practice of the good old Grunig and Hunt, 1984 communication model us PR students have drummed into our heads at university) with consumers on how the company can become involved in social causes. 

Pepsi’s proposed 'Refresh Project' will provide consumers the chance to vote for suggested projects, and each month Pepsi will award grants to chosen causes.

To me this seems to be a very clever and interactive way for the brand to communicate with its publics through a popular platform whilst demonstrating its CSR credentials.

Other companies have also announced they are too following suit. Controversially ‘healthy’ fast food brand, McDonald’s, for example has recently revealed plans for its Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics marketing campaign. The media campaign, ‘How do you McNugget?’ will include both a Twitter and Facebook scavenger hunt to promote the athletes favorites, Chicken McNuggets.

So with Facebook, Twitter and other various social media networks so easily accessible to consumers will the move to online marketing campaigns be able to fully fulfill all objectives? Or will it be an unfortunate case of Pepsi putting too many of its eggs in one basket?

Events are shrinking

A rather ominous email landed in the inbox this morning, stating:

"The Retail Business Show" and "The Retail Business Show Awards" have unfortunately been cancelled. With the current economic slump and more specifically the carnage within the retail arena right now we are not able to put on this year's event, thank you for your interest.”

That was pretty much it apart from an email signature at the bottom; nothing but dismal, downturn depression.

The email piqued my interest firstly because this is usually such a vibrant and well-populated event and secondly, because it’s a subject Buffalo’s just recently been writing about recently.

Obviously retail is a special case with the torrid times the high street is currently going through, but this is likely to be an ongoing trend across the entire event industry. The decline of the mega-expo and conferences with 500+ delegates are really inevitable as marketing budgets are reeled-in.  

During the downturn all businesses are looking to justify every little bit of marketing spend. The mega event, all too frequently, can be a hit and miss affair if delegates don’t plan their involvement properly or don’t have the necessary information to make the best of their time.

The result of this reining-in of events budgets is going to see a rise in more specific, smaller events, creating high-value face to face interactions. Creating smaller events can often see a much more direct result; converting warm leads and strengthening business relationships by devoting more time and effort to those that matter.

Having said that, both big and small events have their individual merits, so this isn’t the end of large events as we know it. However, the trend is starting to emerge and is only likely to increase in 2009 – look out for it.