Pepsi Refresh Project Summary:

The Case discusses about the change in PepsiCo marketing strategy and its implication on
PepsiCo

In 2010, for the first time in 23 years, PepsiCo did not invest in Super Bowl advertising for its
iconic brand. Instead, the company diverted $20 million to the social media-fuelled Pepsi
Refresh Project: PepsiCo's innovative cause-marketing program in which consumers
submitted ideas for grants for health, environmental, social, educational, and cultural causes.

Consumers voted for their favourite ideas, and PepsiCo funded the winners in grants ranging
from $5,000 to $250,000. The case highlights the benefits and risks of traditional branding
and social media branding, including a discussion of how the Pepsi Refresh Project fits with
Pepsi's previous brand positioning.

The case focuses on how the brand team should evaluate the initiative's return on investment
(from sales to social media engagement), whether they should continue the initiative in 2011,
and whether Pepsi is the right brand for this kind of initiative.

Goals of the Pepsi Refresh Project:

 Raise awareness in the campaign itself, along with Pepsi as a company

 Increase brand engagement and brand equity Position Pepsi to be a forward thinking
company focusing on creating a positive change for communities
 Generate buzz to support the brand’s goals
 Encourage consumers to visit the RefreshEverything.com website to register and
submit their ideas
Learning Objective:

The case has three primary learning Objectives:

1) Exploring the risks and rewards when major brands engage in cause-marketing programs,
including backlash from media and consumers

2) Evaluating the success of cause-marketing programs, which involves balancing short-term

sales against longer-term customer loyalty and brand health

3) Exploring the risks and rewards of "opening up" a brand to consumer involvement via
social media; the Pepsi Refresh campaign empowered consumers to propose projects for any
charitable cause they wished, meaning that the brand relinquished some control over the
causes it supported.

Results of the Campaign

 Forbes declared the project as one of the Top 5 Best Social Media Campaigns of All
Time .
 Became one of the most innovative cause marketing campaigns
 6.5 million unique visitors registered and more than 87 million votes casted on
www.RefreshEverything.com
 Affected over 1.4 million people in the US
 Directed over $23 million to fund 760 ideas
 Has reached: 152 schools , parks and playgrounds ,26 children’s homes, shelters, and
affordable housing