PepsiCo Thailand launches ‘Pepsi Ten’ with first online campaign via minteraction and Mindshare
Brand campaigns from Pepsi are synonymous with the words social, active, and fun in the beverages sector in connection with Thai’s pop culture and youth. As an online part of the latest brand campaign ‘Pepsi 345’ with the entertaining app ‘Wow’ as the online activation assets, the challenge was to convert the regular glass bottle user to the new Pepsi Ten bottle (345ml).
GroupM Thailand’s digital unit, mInteraction, with media agency Mindshare teamed up with the brand to help the newly designed NR bottle to regain the target audience, Pepsi loyalists and in between users as well as grow distribution under the retail price of 10 Baht. For past decades, Pepsi managed to hold the position of market leader in Thailand. However, through the disappearance of the brand and products in 2011 via the change of its manufacturer and distributor in Thailand, the brand lost its position. The main challenge was to introduce the new Pepsi Ten through the line, instil and educate the value for money aspect to the target, and blend in the Pepsi spirit of teen and culture into the brand socially anywhere and anytime in every angle of the teen lifestyle at the highlight price of 10 Baht.
Extensive research illustrates how Pepsi cola plays an important role in Thai food culture for a long period of time. It is very unusual for Thais to order a favourite outdoor/street dish without a cola beverage as it can be a refresher, social status pointer, and food highlighter. Pepsi hoped to be again recognized in Thailand’s eating behaviour and food culture through its new NR (the non-returnable bottle design in plastic) as a tool to bring back the same old drinking experience with a modern twist from the traditional glass bottle to hip plastic bottle. The approach was to take them through the journey of the ‘Pepsi Effect‘; that includes the teaser, online brand application gaming competition as well as offline communication. Enter the mouth-watering ‘Wow’ app as a way of re-introducing the eating behaviour for Thai youngsters to enjoy outdoorsy food preferences with its new bottle. By snapping photos in front of the webcam, the app randomizes Thailand’s very own authentic and favourite dish recommendations to match the Pepsi skin as a new way to reintroduce the Pepsi product into the social media network.
Minteraction created the teaser phase where the target can come and feel engaged by utilizing global assets and localizing the teaser with 4 celebrities under the #Pepsieffect followed by a pilot group of consumers. They were also welcomed by the partial product reveal as the brand posted the teaser of Pepsi 345. This aimed to the spread the word about the new Pepsi 345 in town and create the Pepsi Effect attack. In the execution phase 1. they can upload their photo (from Facebook or the computer) or take a photo for the webcam in the ‘Wow’ Execution campaign under the key message the Pepsi Effect Aowack is coming to you and Thailand, making it irresistible to surrender. 2. Click ‘Let’s WOW’ button on the menu to randomize food dishes accompanying the beverage image in the photo. 3. Afterwards, click “share” button to share the image to your Facebook and score a chance to win the prize. Participants must type #Pepsieffect in the image caption before sharing. Upon completion of these steps the image will be posted on the consumer’s Facebook wall.
To further strengthen the engagement, they gave away four prizes; 1 prize per week. The 1st week is the Urface Messenger bag, 2nd week is SNRD sunglasses, 3rd week is the G-shock Watch, and the 4th week is the Marshall headphone. The winners were ordinary teens who epitomized the cool and hipster power and have fun in their lives with the Pepsi Effect.
The brand brought back nostalgic moments to resemble the old experience as a new trend such as flashbacks of iconic stars in the past, Thailand’s own Miss Universe and Michael Jackson to name a few. The campaign has been digitally shared and talked, not just only by the teenagers, but everyone. It also brought back the same old Pepsi lovers to live their moments with the activities. Pepsi 345 was a bubbling success symbolizing the sense of newness and bringing fun into the lives of teenagers.
Credits – Executive Creative Director: Jirat Arinrith. Interactive Art Director: Buncharit Saovapichard. Group Account Director: Thitinut Hirunprueck.