I recently read an article by Bob Hoffman, The Ad Contrarian, summarizing the results of the Pepsi Refresh project. He concluded that it was a total failure.
‘The Refresh Project accomplished everything a social media program is expected to: Over 80 million votes were registered; almost 3.5 million "likes" on the Pepsi Facebook page; almost 60,000 Twitter followers. The only thing it failed to do was sell Pepsi.
It achieved all the false goals and failed to achieve the only legitimate one.’
He made a very convincing point. But the skeptic in me says ‘Hold on. Dig deeper’. Of course the ultimate objective of all marketing activities is to drive sales. However, there are broadly two types of results: immediate and long term. Pepsi Refresh did indeed fail to deliver on short term financial results. However, don’t underestimate the 80 million votes, 3.5 millions likes and 60,000 Twitter followers just yet! They may eventually deliver your long term financial success.
If you don’t believe me, at least read this Adage article (Of course social media works, if you measure it right). The value of the Refresh program was to acquire new consumers into Pepsi’s community. This is important because consumers opted into targeted advertising. This is important because consumers agreed to let Pepsi to mine their data. Pepsi now knows how old you are, where you live, who your friends are...
However, Pepsi hasn’t hit the jackpot yet. I don’t think we can tell the success or failure of the program just yet. The key to success is what Pepsi are doing with these new contacts. How do Pepsi engage them and guide them further along the purchase funnel? Turning acquired fans into advocates and sales is the holy grail.
Success or failure? Only time will tell.
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