Pepsi-Cola’s “Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet: a PR Strategy to Reinforce the Environmental Support System

The world is in danger. Everyone is expected to contribute a significant amount of attention and help to save Mother Earth. With this principal thought at hand, every company – profit or non-profit, private or public, global or local, large or small in origin are affected to this concern.

For the past years, alarming environmental findings cause worrying and paranoia among people. The global warming, pollution in all its forms, overpopulation and others are issues that concerns worldwide public welfare are tackled by various organizations. Among the significant contributors to the campaign in environmental welfare and protection are businesses and companies. When awareness on the protection of the environment is proliferated among all kinds of industry, every company and its management dedicated major allocation in connection to social responsibility, thus, creating programs in support to the environment and its advocates.

Pepsi Cola is one of the largest soft drinks industries which operate worldwide. The main products of the company comprises of different soft drinks brand including Pepsi, Pepsi Light, Pepsi Max, 7UP, Diet 7UP, Caffeine Free Pepsi Light, and Mountain Dew. In order to promote their Pepsi brand, the marketing division of the company has been able to utilise different marketing strategy in order to be competitive in the market place. In addition, different approaches of promotional campaigns such as public relations programs, press releases, etc. have been imposed so as to make the product more appealing to the target market and to make these products marketable (Pepsi World, 2006). 

Pepsi-Cola is among the companies in worldwide operations that has a firm and established history in committing with the environment and its welfare. It could be said that the company is successful with this endeavor. However, with the emergence of several companies operating in the same industry, Pepsi-Cola needs to reinforce its global commitment in protecting Mother Nature and its components.

Thus, this paper aims to create a potential public relation (PR) strategy relative to the reinforcement of Pepsi-Cola’s commitment in the environment and its protection. The campaign will be tagged as “Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet”. Further, this report will study several factors that are imperative in the overall image of the company in relation to the environment.

 

The Concept of Public Relations

Generally, public relations (PR) play many responsibilities in building the image and reputation of an organization. According to Lamb and Mckee (2005), it provides the opportunity for the organization to successfully monitor, interact, and react with other key groups within the organizational environment. Thus, it is defined as: “…the communication and action on the part of an organization that supports the development and maintenance of mutually beneficial relationships between the organization and the groups with which it is interdependent” (Lamn and Mckee, 2005, p.1).

Further, it is a “management function that identifies, establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between an organization and the various publics on whom its success or failure depends” (Cutlip et al, 1999, p.6). PR can be seen as a function motivated by desires to understand or control the environment and to gain understanding from those in the environment, or alternatively, motivated by desires for mutual understanding (Botan and Hazleton Jr., 1989). Also, PR is not merely making a good impression, but more closely about fashioning and projecting credible renditions of reality itself (Ewen, 1996).

            Basically, the reality that public relations credibly render is the reputation of the company. Almost all PR practitioners agree that reputation is one of the keys for organizational success. It should be maintained because once it is tarnished; it could be very difficult to regain (Winkleman, 1999), though regaining reputation is one of the PR man’s job. Nakra (2000) stated: “A company's reputation affects its ability to sell products and services, to attract investors, to hire talented staff, and to exert influence in government circles” (p.35). Organizational reputation reflects employee attitudes and beliefs, customer perception, vendors and business partners as well as the community at large (Nakra, 2000). The PR man’s job is to publicize all those attributes and traits to the public and to the target people or organization. Many companies have gained enough positive reputation because of effective PR.

            For instance, Pepsi-Cola is respected for its moral and ethical values established all over the world. The corporate as well as the social responsibilities of the company contributed to their eventual popularity. Those facts about them do not just go out to the public with just mere benchmarking results. Rather, they are carefully publicized by public relation tactics (i.e. disseminated to broadsheets, tabloids, televised press conferences, etc.) That is why PR is closely related with corporate branding and governance. The management does the cultivation of the corporate brand, and then PR distributes the improvement and handles issues that are harmful to the company’s image and reputation.

            Corporate brand refers to the overall characteristic of the organization, which provides: marks denoting ownership; image-building devices; symbols associated with key values; means by which to construct individual identities; and a conduit by which pleasurable experiences may be consumed (Balmer and Gray, 2003). It communicates the brand’s values, afford a means of differentiation from their competitors, and enhance the esteem and loyalty in which the organization is held by its stakeholder groups (Balmer, 2001).

Thus, marketing and sales strategies are dependent to the strengths or weaknesses of the corporate brands. If the positive values of the corporate brand are successfully publicized by the PR staff, then marketing strategies and sales strategies can use that good publicity to the corporation’s advantage.

For instance, the advertisements of the Pepsi-Cola may include information regarding their reputation as a company that helps maintains a healthy environment for everyone. Because this is the company’s way of showing responsibility to the community, the elements related to those traits are likely to be shown in advertisements. However, this type of relationship between reputation and marketing and sales strategies is not widely researched. In fact, even the general public relations field is not widely researched (Macnamara, 2003). Accordingly, lack of budget time are the two most given reasons.

            Furthermore, the rekindling of corporate and most importantly public awareness on this specific aspect – the environment, is expected as an aftermath of the proposed campaign. It must be determined that this strategy is derived from results of previous observations and known facts affecting the corporate and social responsibilities of Pepsi-Cola in relation to the environment and all other factors related.

With the principles of PR integrated in Pepsi-Cola, it is supposed that this campaign will significantly ignite a trend in the business particularly every company’s commitment to maintain, protect, and save the common place we live in – the Pepsi Generation’s Planet, Mother Earth.

 

SITUATION ANALYSIS (SWOT & PESTEL) of PEPSI-COLA

 

PESTEL Analysis

 

Political

Pepsi is required to abide food laws and policies with all its ingredients. Pepsi have to pay deposit legislation to the government (Pepsiworld, 2006).

 

Economic Conditions

Beverages are also subjected to recession. People can cut down foodstuff and grocery items throughout tight economic periods.

 

Social

Marketing is targeted at city areas, where the greater part of the teenage population lives. Pepsi aims at age, sex, and not physical positions or wages level.

 

Technological

 

New marketing ideas can be produced daily due to improvements in packaging and production skills. Due to technological change, Pepsi is in position to implement new technology that improves its products, packaging and other aspects of its operation (Pepsiworld, 2006). All in all, this will affect the standards in protecting the environment.

 

Environment

 

Packaging costs are high for Pepsi and it costs the company 15c per can in packaging alone. This cans contribute to the waste pollution in the environment. Thus, the efforts of the company in recycling are noticeable.

 

Legal

 

There are standards to be taken into account to eliminate overnight competitors as well as social implications.

 

SWOT Analysis

 

Strengths

      Recognition of the brand;

      Products of high quality;

      Licensing networks are strong;

      Strong economic support;

      Successful advertising promotion;

      Strong history in caring the environment;

      Committed to being an environmentally responsible corporate citizen (Pepsiworld FAQ, 2006);

      One of only 20 companies honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Pepsiworld FAQ, 2006);

      Rising global markets.

Weaknesses   

      Still the second in the carbonated soft drink industry, they are still behind the Coke;

      Diversity in the market and consumers;

      Rapid competition and propaganda.

Opportunities

      Pepsi did a great job in the international market. The developed countries overseas represent a great opportunity for the company to maintain increasing its market shares.

      Pepsi is aggressive in looking for the most well known support people in various territories, for instance UK.

Threats

      It was affected by boycott in certain countries globally due to political reasons. This gave certain strength to competitors’ brands.

      Competitive local brands. These products usually provide cheaper prices.

      The increasing health consciousness of people is another battle to anticipate.

*** (For further information for this part, see Appendix)

 

 

OBJECTIVES

           

      To redefine, reinforce, and rebuild Pepsi’s commitment in preservation and caring for the environment by using the campaign “Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet”.

      Promote Pepsi-Cola as a socially and environment-friendly beverage company, creating a point of difference in relation to its competitors.

      Increase brand awareness among youth and all other consumers of the product.

      Initiate collective effort and cooperation among state, business, related institutions, and people in relation to environmental protection, welfare, and management.

 

TARGET AUDIENCE

            Generally, the “Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet” campaign is directed in the urban as well as rural areas. However, strict implementation is evident within the urban areas.

Primarily, Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet is directed to youth (ages 12-24) since they are the main consumers of Pepsi-Cola and also regarded as the Pepsi Generation individuals.

            Secondarily, consumers and non-consumers of Pepsi-Cola are also targeted since they are contributory elements of the given situation.

            Lastly, the environment related institutions that are advocating Mother Earth’s welfare, protection, and management are included so that they will use Pepsi-Cola as example and/or sponsor thus increasing the potential of the brand to be popular.

 

STRATEGY

            With the current competitive stage of Pepsi-Cola in the global beverage industry, it could be deemed that the company earned its brand position in the marketplace. Further, its social as well as environmental commitment is recognized by people. However, there is a need to redefine, reinforce, and rebuild the company’s actions towards environment protection, welfare, and management by using this campaign.

            While it is true that the efforts of the company to care for the environment began within the bounds of its corporate environment, it could be said that the initiative must be broader in implementation. Truly, the notification of Pepsi-Cola to recycle present in ever can, bottle, and other containers is effective. However, there should be reinforcement that will eventually materialize the purpose.

            The campaign, “Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet” is directed to promote intensive awareness and concern to the emerging and aggravating environmental conditions through various media such as television and the Internet, events, partnerships and sponsorships.

            Key characteristics:

-          established commitment in caring the environment

-          recognized importance

-          inclusiveness

            Key messages:

-          initiate actions in caring the environment

-          Pepsi-Cola is an environment-friendly company

-          Awareness of people on the recent environmental nuisances 

           

TACTICS

            The tactics will highlight the goal of Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet campaign which is to redefine, reinforce, and rebuild Pepsi-Cola’s commitment in caring the environment. It will be brief and simple, accessible and universal in scope, and will incorporate the image of the company as a socially responsible and more importantly environment-friendly.

            The tactics will mainly focus to the following media:

Television – the popularity of TV among all members of a given population offers an effective way to communicate the message of the campaign. In UK, the Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet campaign will be in a form of a television advertisement using a presentation of various environmental scenes. The use of tagline and logo/caricature is also recommended. As clincher, the name of the campaign itself will be used.

The Internet – Similar to TV, the popularity and the accessibility of this medium guarantees an effective result. Pop-up ads will be used that bears the Pepsi logo or the caricature similar to the TV ad as well as the name of the campaign as the clinching statement. Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet!

Events – the presence of events in all areas of UK serves a vast entrance for opportunities to promote the gist of the campaign. School, socio-cultural, civic, and even commercial events are viable avenues to penetrate and implement the campaign. The different participants of a particular event will be attracted by using traditional materials such as posters, flyers, leaflets, stickers, and other memorabilia that contains the official logo.

Partnership and Sponsorship – the presence of events is connected with the concept of partnership and sponsorship. Known to be a popular method in PR, partnership with institutions and agencies that give priority to the care of the environment is appropriate for the campaign. In terms of sponsorship, it is also the same process given that there are necessary factors and considerations that should be arranged and determined by the two or more participants. Coordination with the participating institutions or agencies must be strict. Important matters must be discussed in connection to the intent and at the same time the expected outcome of this particular venture. By using the name of the campaign itself as a clincher, there is an apparent and predetermined successful report.

TIME TABLE (SCHEDULE)

 

             Due to time and budget constraints, the Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet campaign is highly applicable to the recent issues on worldwide environmental welfare and management. Thus, six months will be the maximum time allocation. The campaign starts on June 2006 and will end on May 2007.

 

June – August 2006

      Research on the specified area for the PR campaign, identification of factors, alternatives, and risks

      Planning stage – corporate meetings, field surveys and feasibility studies

      Invitation of partners and scouting for related events to be sponsored

September – November 2006

      Start of making the official logo and initial teasers on TV and the Internet

      Website upgrading and maintenance

      Launching of the campaign “Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet” –the presentation of the whole TV advertisement (30-seconder), pop-up ads, first event sponsorship and partnership

December 2006 – February 2007

      Continuous sponsorship and partnership with events, institutions, and agencies

      Evaluation of the campaign through survey, feedbacks and press releases

March – May 2007

      Final assessment of the campaign

 

EVALUATION

            The evaluation is not only the extent of meeting the goals of the campaign but to comprehensively identify the extent of the effectiveness of the campaign. The result of the campaign is evaluated by using the output and outcome techniques. The output is evaluated by measuring media coverage. It is done by identifying related write-ups about the campaign, several factors like media analysis, and the overall impact of the program. On the other hand, the outcome of the campaign is evaluated by using the final survey system. As identified, a comparison of the previous and present results of the survey will identify the final result or extent of effectiveness of the campaign.

After six-twelve months, a survey is conducted again to find out if the campaign had a short-term/long-term significant effect(s) on the behavior and practice of the target audience in connection to caring of the environment. Within the internal aspect of the company, the management is encourage to study the consequences of the campaign in relation to sales, brand positioning and corporate reputation as a whole.

 

 

BUDGET CALCULATION

            The overall budget for the Save the Pepsi Generation’s Planet campaign is 500,000 sterling. It is broken down to the following notations:

Months	Activity	Participant(s)	Cost
June to August  2006	Research and surveys	PR officer and staff	10,000
	Meetings	Management and PR people	5, 000
	Scouting of potential partners and events to be sponsored	PR officer and staff	25, 000
September to November 2006	Creation of the campaign design (teasers for TV and the Internet)	Production staff	75, 000
	Website upgrade	IT specialist	50, 000
	Printing of supplementary materials for the campaign (flyers, stickers, leaflets, etc.)	PR staff and participating individuals and/or organizations	60, 000
	Launching of the campaign	The management, media people, and consumers	130, 000
December 2006 to February 2007	Continuous sponsorship and partnership	Staff, agencies and participating individuals	110, 000
	Evaluation of the campaign through poll survey, feedbacks, and press releases	PR staff, media people and consumers	20, 000
March to May 2007	Final assessment and evaluation	The company	15, 000
TOTAL			500, 000

 

 

APPENDIX

 

Internal Factors	Strengths	Weaknesses
Management	Experienced, broad base of interests and knowledge	Large size may lead to conflicting interests
Product Line	Unique, tastes good, competitive price, and convenient	New one calorie products have no existing customer base, generic brands can make similar drinks - cheaper
Marketing	Diverse, and global awareness	May lose focus, may not be segmented enough
Personnel	International, diverse positions	Possible conflicts due to so many people, possible trouble staying focused
Finance	High sales revenue, high sale growth, large capital base	High expenses, may have trouble balancing cash-flows of such a large operation
Manufacturing	Low costs and liabilities due to outsourcing of bottling	Lose control and quality standards
Research & Development	Continuous efforts to research trends an reinforce creativity	May concentrate too much on existing products, intrapreneuralship may not be welcomed
External Factors	Opportunities	Threats
Consumer/ Social	Huge market in the healthy products and growing market for specialized foods for ethnic groups	More expensive products than Coke, such a high price may limit lower income families from buying a Pepsi product
Competitive	Distinctive name, product and packaging in with regards to its markets	Not entirely patentable, constant replicability by competitors
Technological	Internet promotion such as banner ads and keywords can increase their sales, and more computerized manufacturing and ordering processes can increase their efficiency	Computer breakdowns, viruses and hackers can reduce efficiency, and must constantly update products or other competitors will be more advanced
Economic	Consumer income is high, more tend to eat out, convenience is important to U.S.	Very elastic demand, almost pure competition
Legal/ Regulatory	High U.S. Food & Drug Administration standards eliminate overnight competitors

Source: Five-Year Marketing Plan of PepsiCo (www.pepsicoinc.com)

 

REFERENCES

 

 

About Pepsi (2006). Company Website. Retrieved May 4, 2006 from

www.pepsico.com.

 

Balmer, J.M.T. (1998), “Corporate identity and the advent of corporate marketing”, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol. 14 No. 8, pp. 963-96.

 

Balmer, J.M.T. (2001), “Corporate identity, corporate branding and corporate marketing: seeing through the fog”, European Journal of Marketing, Vol. 35 No. 3 and 4, pp. 248-91.

 

Balmer, J.A.T. and Gray, E.R. (2003). Corporate brands: what are they? What of them? European Journal of Marketing Vol. 37 No. 7/8; pp. 972-997

 

Botan, C.H. and Hazleton Jr., V. (1989). Public Relations Theory. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Hillsdale, NJ.

 

Cutlip, S., Center,A. and Broom, G. (1999), Effective Public Relations, Pearson, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

 

Ewen, S. (1996). PR!A Social History of Spin. Basic Books: New York.

 

Lamb. L.F. and Mckee, K.B. (2005). Applied Public Relations: Cases in Stakeholder Management. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Mahwah, NJ.

 

Pepsiworld FAQ (2006). Community Information – Environment Support. Retrieved May 4, 2006 from www.pepsiworld.com.

 

Nakra, P. (2000). Corporate Reputation Management: "CRM" with a Strategic Twist? Public Relations Quarterly. Vol.45, No. 2; p.35.

 

Winkleman, M. (1999). "The Fickle Finger of Reputation” Chief Executive, April: 79.

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[RoyArtenz]

Do you think that Obama is going to win because the Republicans have such a bad candidate?
Why did John McCain make his final argument against Obama... coal?
That's his closing argument? William Ayers, Rev. Wright, spreading the wealth, Born Alive, meeting dictators without preconditions, etc. all have to take a back seat so that McCain can go to Colorado and New Mexico to talk about coal? Does this more or less explain why he's going to get his clock cleaned Tuesday?