Wednesday, April 10, 2013

“Get Buckets” Gets Bills


PEPSICO Company launched a new advertising campaign in early 2012, their idea: create viral buzz to promote the launch of a new product. If you notice, Pepsi has always familiarized their name brand with humorous promotional media most often acquainted with popular icons. Take for example the Super Bowl commercial in 2012 featuring Elton John and Melanie Armaro, an attention-getting introduction that finishes with a strong message Pepsi gets across, superior taste to everyone. Something a consumer on the outside looking in will forever remember, they will link the commercial to the Pepsi name brand and their new product. It’s something that works. If you’ve exhausted all avenues of promotional techniques there are always endorsements to be handed to media figures to advertise your company. Any marketing department can do, just as long you can afford the actor, singer, or NBA star and that your company doesn’t solely rely on the endorsee to sell the product. As I found out in my Digital Advertising course if you invest into a celebrity to market your company, if you don’t have the product/service/resources to back it up, it is recipe for failure.
Pepsi has nothing to worry about and have only excelled in the marketing management area. One thing they do extraordinarily well is find trends in the market and advertise catered to their consumer. Last year Pepsi endorsed Kyrie Irving, the point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers to promote Pepsi’s new beverage, Pepsi MAX. One marketer might say what Pepsi is doing is a marketing fundamental “no-no,” it’s not! Pepsi aired a commercial with Irving, disguised as a 70 year-old man (“Uncle Drew”), go to a basketball court and take young kids “to school.” What’s not to love? You have teens getting their “ankles broke” by someone that looks the age of their grandfather. I’ve been called out for enjoy commercials entirely too much, but hey I’m a marketing major and if your commercial has humor in it you have mine and everybody’s attention. Where does Pepsi fit in? The last five-seconds of the commercial, saying “Try NEW Pepsi-Max and check out the full version of Uncle Drew at Pepsi Max. com or visit us on Facebook at Pepsi Max”
It’s genius. About everyone has some form of social media by now, from my 12 year-old sister to my 82 year-old grandfather. Pepsi looks at how people respond to an event by how they turn to social media. Enough people see what you saw, tweet about what you tweeted, and within 5 minutes it’s a trending topic. Consumers almost advertise it for the company. Not only that but now you have ‘hooked’ the viewer who wants more and the only way to do that is visit the Pepsi Max website or their Facebook page. It gives the consumer incentive and has literally driven consumers to your destination page. A catch phrase in the video “I Get Buckets” was a trend on topic and everyone follows to see what the buzz is about and follow the link. Now marketers can measure how successful their campaign is and will be in the future and how to react. Just a simple video that has gone viral with “Uncle Drew” created 5.4 million views and a week and counting. Consumers follow up with Pepsi and has created mass-media so Pepsi has created yet a second video this time featuring Kevin Love and Pepsi isn’t looking back. Success
P.S. - has Kyrie Irving and Nike released a shoe yet?
PSS

Uncle Drew Videos part 1 and 2

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