Marketing Memo: PepsiCo Takes A Page From President Obama's Successful Campaign For Change With its 'Refresh America' Multi-Media Marketing Campaign

Pepsi's consumer-interactive banner ad above is being featured on Web sites like Yahoo Music and Google.com's Content Network. When users click on the banner it takes then to YouTube, where they can then upload a video telling President Barack Obama what they think needs to be changed (and not changed) in America. The banner ad is part of Pepsi's "Refresh Everything" multi-media advertising campaign, which features a social media focus. The "Refresh Everything" campaign looks a whole lot like the new President's winning Presidential campaign.

Special Report: President Obama & the U.S. food industry

If you've been watching the television coverage of the U.S. Presidential Inauguration celebration of over the last few days, including today's swearing-in and related festivities for America's new 44th President, Barack Obama, you may have noticed the series of commercials running on many of the television channels from beverage and food giant PepsiCo. The ads look very much like, and use themes and words -- such as "hope" and "change" -- very similar to those the new President used throughout his successful campaign for the nation's highest office. Pepsi has even temporarily changed its iconic logo in the TV commercials to look very similar to the logo President Obama used on his signs and elsewhere throughout his nearly two-year campaign for President of the United States of America. Brand Obama equals brand Pepsi appears to be the message.

The Obama campaign-like advertising and marketing campaign being conducted by PepsiCo, the U.S.-based global food and beverage company that in addition to its huge soda pop and snack foods franchises also is a major player in the natural food and beverage segments, is specifically designed to tap into the new spirit in America based on the themes of hope and change the new President has inspired and continued to do so in his inauguration speech to America and the world. [You can view PepsiCo's brand portfolio here.]

Pepsi calls it its "Refresh Everything" campaign. It's key target audience with the campaign is the "Millennial" generation, the very same segment of young Americans who came out by the millions and donated money to, worked for, and voted for President Barack Obama.

As a part of its integrated "Refresh Everything" campaign. Change. Refresh. Renew. We get it. The campaign, which without a doubt is built around the election of the new President, includes an innovative social media effort in which Pepsi is making use of an application that lets users upload their own videos directly through an ad banner posted on various Web sites.

Pepsi calls the social media feature "Dear Mr. President." Its focus is to encourage its Millennial segment target audience to upload videos expressing their thoughts to today's incoming president on what should and shouldn't be changed about the country. In other words Pepsi is taking a page right out of the Obama Presidential campaign's Web-based effort in which throughout the campaign it used social media to ask voters that very same question. Obama campaign staffers then replied to voters in an interactive manner about the ideas they offered for America via the campaign Web site.

[Take a look at the new Whitehouse.gov Website, the site for the President of the United States of America. At noon today, at the very same time Barack Obama was sworn-in as President, the Web site was changed (dramatically) from that of the George W. Bush Administration to the Obama Administration. The site looks much different than the Bush site. In fact, the Obama Administration (and U.S. government) Presidential Web site looks very similar to the Obama Presidential campaign site, and it includes a couple interactive and social media-type functions, with more to come. If the Obama Administration can execute its policies like the team did the Web site change today -- it was changed literally seconds after the new President was inaugurated this afternoon -- the U.S. could be in for some real change in how the White House works.]

Pepsi first posted the ad banner for its "Dear Mr. President" social media/marketing campaign on Yahoo Music.com and the Google.com Content Network on Jan. 14, just a week ago. The big push has been over the last three days. The banners remain up until tomorrow. However, the "Refresh Everything" campaign and Web site continues on.

When the ad banner is clicked it takes the user directly into Pepsi's "Refresh Everything" campaign area on YouTube.com, where a "Dear Mr. President" video can be uploaded in the same way all YouTube videos are posted by users. Those users without Webcams can submit a text message instead.

The social media/ad banner campaign was created for Pepsi by the R/GA marketing agency. R/GA executive vice president and chief marketing services officer Dawn Winchester says, as far as she is aware, "this is the first time an ad banner has recorded video in this manner."

The innovative social marketing application fits the digital behavioral habits Pepsi's Millenial target audience perfectly, as well as many other consumers like those of us who are a bit older but still are social media savvy, in our analysis. We think PepsiCo is on to something very innovative and hot, both with the overall "Refresh Everything" campaign in general, but specifically with the "Dear Mr. President" social media feature using YouTube.

Natural~Specialty Foods Memo (NSFM) talked this week to a member of the Obama transition communications team who told us the President's staff is aware of the PepsiCo "Refresh Everything" campaign and the "Dear Mr. President" YouTube feature and will be taking a look at the videos posted by the users, who just happen to be voters as well.

Ms. Winchester says that while YouTube is the hub of the overall digital and social marketing campaign, consumer interaction with the Pepsi brand also is being promoted through the "Refresh Everything" campaign site, a mobile site and other social media sites. For example, she says "Refresh Everything" launched only a couple weeks ago on Facebook and already has more than 170,000 fans.

In our analysis, from a marketing standpoint Pepsi's tie-in with the themes of the victorious Obama campaign and its interactive rather than hard-sell design of the campaign makes it a winner.

Additionally, Pepsi has sponsored a number of activities around the inauguration of President Obama, including being a lead sponsor of the pre-inaugural concert and celebration at the Lincoln Memorial which honored Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on his birthday, as well as celebrated the election of America's 44th and first black President. Pepsi's sponsorship of these various activities includes substantial donations to charitable organizations.

Coke better watch out. After all, change is in the air.

Marketing Memo: Drinks' Giant Pepsi is Getting 'Raw' and 'Natural' With its First New Cola Introduction in Over Ten Years

Food and beverage industry giant PepsiCo, maker and marketer of the Pepsi cola drink brand, is getting raw and natural with a new cola it will introduce soon in the United Kingdom called Pepsi Raw. The new cola was created by Pepsi's UK drinks division.

The beverage, the first new cola the marketer has launched in over a decade, will not only contain all natural ingredients, but the drink maker will depart from the age-old soda pop industry paractice of not listing all the ingredients of a cola on its container, and list all of Pepsi Raw's ingredients on the can or bottle.

The ingredients which make up Pepsi Raw are: pure cane sugar (instead of fructose or another corn sweetner), apple extract, natural carmel coloring (we aren't sure what that is), coffee leaf, tantric acid extracted from grapes, gum arabic from acacia trees and sparkling water. Petty clean--and "raw."

Pepsi says the new drink will not contain any artificial preservatives, colors, flavors or sweetners. Hence the raw name, we imagine. This is in contrast to the company's other Pepsi branded colas and soft drinks which contain fructose corn syrup, artificial coloring and preservatives.

Pepsi Raw is paler in color than the other Pepsi cola drinks and has less carbonation or fizz to it. The beverage marketer will initially introduce the new cola later this year in the UK, first in a select number of clubs and bars in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton, Glasgow and Birmingham. It then plans to launch the natural cola in UK food and beverage retail stores and supermarkets, as well as in foodservice, before it markets Pepsi Raw in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world.

The UK has become a leader in natural and organic food and drink--both from a consumer demand standpoint and retailer push perspective--so the UK launch makes good sense to us. It offers a test in a hip food and drink market, where "natural," "organic," "ethical," and "green" are becoming a part of the everyday language of consumers.

By departing from the time-honored soft drink maker's code of keeping at least some of their cola ingredients secret (natural flavors is meaningless for example), Pepsi is blazing a new path with its "Raw" cola by listing everything the drink contains on the label. To this day, Coca Cola goes to great lengths--and expenses--to maintain the "secret ingredient" or two in its famous Coca Cola, even though it lists the primary ingredients on the can or bottle. Cola marketers also have believed leaving a little something out, the "secret ingredient," creates an illusiveness which creates new drinkers. We think that once might have been true, but it isn't likely the case today.

Of course, since Pepsi Raw is geared to a more health-oriented consumer, it makes perfect sense to "break the code" and list all the ingredients on the cola's container. In fact, not doing so would likely create a buying barrier among healthier-oriented shoppers who demand full-disclosure on food and beverage labels. The new cola has far-less calories, 90 calories per 300ml bottle for example, than Pepsi's other colas in the same size bottle, which have about 130 calories.

Pepsi's marketing director Bruno Gruwex is touting the new natural cola as the marketer's "most significant new product innovation in 15 years." In terms of breaking the cola mold for the bottler, we probably agree with him.

It's not like a wild band of hippies have just invaded PepsiCo though. The food and beverage company has been getting deeper into the natural and organic products categories over the last five years or so. Its Frito Lay snack food division has introduced organic potato and vegetable snack chips. It's created all natural snack products with far less salt, and with no preservatives or other artificial ingredients as well.

Late last year, PepsiCo even acquired a company called Sabre, which produces and markets a popular all natural, fresh prepared hummus under the Sabre brand. Since buying the company, the food and beverage marketer has launched it into thousands of new supermarkets nationally in the U.S., and put substantial marketing funds behind promoting the hummus brand.

In the beverage category, PepsiCo recently bought the Naked Juice brand of fresh, all natural and organic juices. Naked Juice is similar to Odwalla, which is owned by Coca Cola. It's an all natural, super-fresh juice which requires refrigeration in merchandising and has a relatively short shelf-life because of its pure nature. The New York-based company is expanding its direct sales force to sell the brand, launching it nationally, and spending a sizeable chunk of cash to buy floor space in supermarkets for the Naked Juice point-of-sale refrigerated merchandising units.

Looking at PepsiCo's corporate strategic marketing push into the natural food and beverage categories illuminates the marketer's motivation behind creating a product such as Pepsi Raw. It wants to capture more health conscious consumers, as well as younger, hipper folks who want alternatives to basic cola's and have switched to new age soft drinks and other beverages. The Naked Juice and (the marketer hopes) Pepsi Raw consumer are very similar in many demographic characteristics.

In fact, it's no accident Pepsi is introducing "Raw" first in clubs and bars in the UK cities we mentioned above. The marketer's hope we are certain is to create word of mouth buzz among the trendsters who frequent these establishments, thereby creating more widespread demand for the new cola. These clubers tend to be early adopters, and are always looking for the latest next new thing, be it in food, fashion or cola drinks.

We think Pepsi Raw is a pretty good name for the cola drink. It's short, describes the natural elements of the cola well, and lends itself to various positive brand connotations that consumers can make in their own minds. Of course, taste as always will be key. If people don't like the drink's taste, they might connote negative definitions of raw, which that won't be a good thing for the brand at all. But, good branding is generally always a potential double-edged sword.