Social Media Can't Do it All- Pepsi Falls Behind Diet Coke

by Cynti Oshin
Director Client Services/Business Development

Any financial planner will tell you to diversify your portfolio. The same concept applies to a brand's media strategy - to develop a strategic marketing mix designed to provide optimal reach and frequency over appropriate vehicles. I'm guessing PepsiCo wishes they applied that kind of thinking to their 2010 marketing plan for Pepsi. The longtime holder of the #2 spot in the carbonated drink category, Pepsi slipped to #3 in 2010. To what do some analysts attribute this fall? Last year, Pepsi moved the lion's share of its media dollars to the Refresh Project interactive campaign. While the hyper focused social media campaign garnered gazillions of twitter, blog and facebook followers - it did not meet the fundamental objective of increasing sales. Indeed, the strategy has left Pepsi with ~5% loss in market share.

It has been said before and will be said again - social media is a fabulous tool in a brand's kit. It is not the be all and end all, just ask Pepsi. In 2011, they've increased their media spend significantly to try to gain back what they've lost in one year. And guess where - in traditional media. Massimo d"Amore, Chief Executive of PepsiCo Beverages America has been quoted as saying, "We need television to make the big, bold statement." I'm sure they do.