Pepsi has decided to axe their Super Bowl ad campaign for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, Florida this year. Instead they are dumping 20 million dollars in to a Social Media Marketing campaign. The move by Pepsi exemplifies the major shift in advertising dollars that we have seen develop over the past year. As corporations large and small continue to pull advertising dollars from traditional markets like television, newspaper, and print, we are seeing these funds relocated to online campaigns that engage customers and allow for advanced statistical tracking. This marks the first year in 23 years that Pepsi has not developed an ad for the Super Bowl.
Pepsi has decided to axe their Super Bowl ad campaign for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, Florida this year. Instead they are dumping 20 million dollars in to a Social Media Marketing campaign. The move by Pepsi exemplifies the major shift in advertising dollars that we have seen develop over the past year. As corporations large and small continue to pull advertising dollars from traditional markets like television, newspaper, and print, we are seeing these funds relocated to online campaigns that engage customers and allow for advanced statistical tracking. This marks the first year in 23 years that Pepsi has not developed an ad for the Super Bowl.
So what does a 20 million dollar Social Media campaign look like?
The campaign consists of the Pepsi Refresh Project and the DEWmocracy campaigns from Pepsi and their Mountain Dew division.
Pepsi Refresh Project
“Pepsi is giving away millions each month to fund great ideas.”
Pepsi is allowing businesses, people, and non-profits to submit their ideas that they believe will have a positive impact. 1000 ideas will be accepted every month. Anyone can submit an idea and anyone can vote on these ideas. You can vote for 10 ideas per day and voting closes at the end of the month. For example, 1000 ideas have been submitted for February, voting for these ideas will begin on Feb. 1, with the winner being chose by the end of February.
The prizes are as follows:
- $5,000 for up to 10 awardees per month. This is best for individuals.
- $25,000 for up to 10 awardees per month. For individuals and small groups.
- $50,000 for up to 10 awardees per month. For companies and organizations.
- $250,000 for up to 2 awardees per month. This is for large organizations.
There are six categories to submit to; Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods, and Education.
You must be a resident of the United States and over the age of 13 to apply.
Links:
DEWmocracy
DEWmocracy first began in 2007. The public was allowed to vote on flavor, color, name and graphics for a new drink from Mountain Dew. The campaign resulted in more than 470,000 votes and the new Mountain Dew Voltage was available in stores in January, 2009.
In the second DEWmocracy campaign launched in July of 2009 Mountain Dew aims to narrow 7 different kinds of soda down to a new flavor that will become a part of the Mountain Dew line of soft drinks. Social Networking websites such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and 12seconds.tv will be used to poll customers. As of now it has been narrowed down to three new flavors, Mtn Dew Distortion, Mtn Dew Typhoon, and Mtn Dew White Out.
The Benefits of a Social Media Marketing Campaign
PepsiCo is finding that customer engagement is the key to bringing their new lines of soda to the general public without being pushy. They are able to get people interested in their new brands without telling them in a round about way that they will be cool or fashionable or healthy if they consume their products. Instead they are allowing the public to build a relationship with the brand and giving them a sense of empowerment by allowing them to have a say in the final product or allowing them to gain something (in the Pepsi Refresh Project, a grant) by participating. These types of marketing techniques have been around for decades, maybe centuries. The ability to reach such a large audience with the ability to interact from their computers allows an idea like this to take shape and be passed along in a way never before possible. Pepsi is enjoying news of their brand and their new products to spread like wildfire to the masses without deploying people or advertisements in all corners of the globe to spread the idea. This kind of marketing campaign has benefits for any company, large or small, and as advertising dollars continue to be pulled from traditional mediums and placed in to online campaigns the ideas continue to grow and those who are beating their competition to the punch are continuing to reap the benefits.
To see how your company can benefit from a Social Media Marketing campaign, learn about our social media services and request a free audit from Stikky Media.
