Pepsi Skips Advertising and Does More Inbound Marketing

HubSpot's Inbound Internet Marketing Blog

Current Articles | RSS Feed

Pepsi Skips Advertising and Does More Inbound Marketing

digg it |

reddit |

del.icio.us |

StumbleUpon

Pepsi is launching a new beverage called Tava. For a company like Pepsi, this would normally mean lots of TV ads, billboards, some radio spots, print ads in magazines, and a website.

But, for Tava, they are using a new model and focusing more on Inbound Marketing. They have set up a website, and are also doing a lot of free samples and other creative stunts, plus some banner ads.

What is even more interesting than Pepsi using more inbound marketing for the launch of Tava is that they are targeting a much older audience than you might think these techniques would be good for - 35 to 49 year old men and women.

Pepsi is calling their audience the "reborn digital" crowd - people that did not grow up with the Internet, but now use it as a part of their daily lives. They also believe that there are a number of influencers in this crowd - people who blog and share and promote things to others, making it a good initial target audience. Looks like it sort of worked on me. I haven't even tasted the stuff, and yet I am talking about it in a blog article, even though the article is about how they are marketing the product.

I look forward to seeing a Facebook ad for Tava soon. Read this New York Times Article about Tava for more background on the marketing behind Tava.

PS - Pepsi... I know you sent free samples to the Google offices. We're waiting for a couple cases at HubSpot. Our address is One Broadway, 10th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142.

Posted by Mike Volpe on Mon, Apr 28, 2008 @ 09:58 AM

COMMENTS

Hi Mike,
Main Stream meets WOMM. Could be interesting. I bet it works.
It got me to check out their web site.
Which is Google like in it's simplicity - 3 Flavor Choices, Product Info, Food Pairings - Done.
It just doesn't tell you were to get it, which I assume will be at Grocery Stores that the Pepsi Truck is stopping at anyway.
We'll see - Now I want One and I know there aren't any in my fridge - yet.
Jack

posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 12:21 PM by Jack Napoli

Interesting article Mike. After reading the NYT article and checking out the Tava site, it comes across like Pepsi isn't entirely sold on the product. Also, anything that lists chromium picolinate as a selling point in their FAQ doesn't stand a good chance of making it into my house.
Regardless, I'll be interested to see how the change in marketing plays out for Pepsi.

posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 1:43 PM by Dan Elliott

Do we really need another low calorie soft drink?
This is a good article. I think the big companies should try more interesting marketing schemes. The billboards and crazy commercials have lost their efficacy I think.

posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 2:09 PM by Andy Fox

Tava makes perfect sense for an inbound marketing launch Pepsi can try a relatively inexpensive campaign, use viral marketing to determine if they have a hit and terminate quickly if they have a flop. Makes sense to me

posted on Monday, April 28, 2008 at 11:57 PM by Dan Tyre

I agree with Dan - Anyone remember the Crystal Clear Pepsi they came out with? It was terrible, but someone at Pepsi convinced everyone to advertise it like crazy. Imagine all the money they could have saved by starting out this way. It's almost like an advertising safety net...

posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 9:29 AM by Andy Weigel

I think that dan' s opinion is better. Btw its good article.

posted on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 9:39 AM by Tommy_Gun

I LOVE the way Pepsi is marketing their new beverage. Being the founder of an interactive ad agency, I can't wait until more and more businesses start playing with creative marketing strategies.
Peter Kao
http://influenzamedia.com