Christie Manigrassi
Marketing 3501
Brand Assignment
17 Sept 2009
Pepsi-Cola has a tough job. Competing with rival Coca-Cola is no easy task.
Despite that fact, Pepsi has done an excellent job promoting their product. Among the
Pepsi brand are of course Pepsi, other products such as Mountain Dew, 7UP and other beverages. Here we will focus on products with the Pepsi name such as Pepsi, Wild
Cherry Pepsi, Pepsi One, and their diet products. Pepsi was ranked number twenty-two on BusinessWeek’s list of Best Global Brands. Pepsi uses a unique but effective advertising strategy.
The promotion of Pepsi’s line that is most frequently seen by consumers is their commercials. Their newest strategy is mixing the old school with the new school.
Currently, due to the start of the NFL season they have a commercial featuring the older generations of football players and fans (of course the fans are drinking Pepsi) with the new one. It provides a way for people to reminisce while Pepsi gets their point across to the viewers that their brand has been around for years and will continue to be.
Pepsi also has been keeping up with the current social networking websites like
Twitter and Facebook. They must know that people are always online these days and a great way to reach people is through the sites they most commonly use. On Facebook
Pepsi has over 240,000 fans and on Twitter over 13,000 followers.
They also recently sponsored the voting for “Best New Artist” for the 2009 MTV
Video Music Awards. This let people vote for who they think should win best new artist and every time they went to that site, the Pepsi logo was there and proved a great way for
Pepsi to get publicity. Pepsi is sponsoring a campaign to protect the environment called

the “New Pepsi Challenge” and are also sponsors of “dosomething.org”, a group that encourages volunteers to serve in the community.
Pepsi has recently decided to change the image of their cans every few weeks.
Their new packaging approach is very simple, unlike their old one. Their new cans have their logo and a design that will catch people’s attention but will not seem too busy.
They are targeting teens and young adults with themes like sports, fashion, and cars; topics that interest people of that age group.
Pepsi has done a great job at promoting their product, but have not yet exhausted their resources. When it comes to personal selling, there is very little going on at Pepsi.
Because Pepsi is such a widely known brand, it relies little on personal selling. You will never receive a phone call from a Pepsi representative asking if you want to buy some of their product. They have other ways of reaching their target market. Like the example above, if Pepsi wants to sell to football fans, they create a commercial that speaks directly to football fans.
Recently, Pepsi came up with a very creative strategy to directly market their product. They had a “Pepsi Max team” roaming the streets trying to spot anyone who was drinking Pepsi Max. When they came across the people who were drinking Pepsi
Max, they gave each of them a fifty dollar coupon for Pepsi Max. Using this strategy they were able to reach not only the customers who were drinking the Pepsi, but those around them who were interested in what their prize was or how they could win something from Pepsi.
Sales promotions that Pepsi offers are coupons in grocery ads or magazines.
Pepsi is so well known and reasonably priced that if people want a Pepsi, they will go out

and get a Pepsi, not worrying if they have a coupon or discount. Their public relations are much the same. Articles are published all the time about the “Coke War” or “Pepsi
War”, the debate between Coke and Pepsi. Ultimately it is the consumer’s choice of which product they like better and which will offer them the most satisfaction. However,
Pepsi could do a better job of reaching their costumers and letting them know that Pepsi is, in fact, better than Coke.
My experiences with Pepsi are not very numerous. I always seem to notice the
Coke ads rather than Pepsi’s. However; with Pepsi’s new packaging design and television commercials, I believe Pepsi is starting to reach more and more customers. I would recommend to Pepsi that better public relations and sales promotion could give them an even greater market. Pepsi could offer more incentives for people to buy their product. For example, a limited time-offer on a bulk amount of products or free offer’s with the purchase of their product.
Pepsi’s advertising is one of the best in the market today. Their personal selling is left to meetings and presentations to large distributors rather than to the individual consumer, which is smart. The sponsorship and events that Pepsi is a part of is an excellent thing not only to promote their product but to sustain our earth. I would recommend that Pepsi do more direct marketing and have their brand more in touch with consumers.
Overall, I think Pepsi has given Coke a run for its money for years now and will continue to do so for many more years. With a few changes in their promotional mix,
Pepsi will also continue to be one of the most recognized brands in the world.