Blueprinting Brand ID
Brand Research History
1
Target Audience
2
Brand Identity Blueprint
3
Consumer Research Survey
5
Refined Blueprint
12
Brand Communication Critique Media Critique
14
SWOT Analyses
17
Conclusion
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Pepsi was officially trademarked in 1903, 17 years after Coca Cola was introduced. It has undergone 11 logo changes, the most notable being in 1941 when it introduced the iconic red, white and blue “swish” in support of the war effort. Pepsi arrived in New Zealand in the early 1970s, once again 10 years later than Coke. Its latest logo change was introduced in New Zealand in March 2010. The new logo reflects their move to associate itself with the latest music scenes, and the continuing attempt at staying up to date with the “Pepsi Generation”. In February 2010 Pepsi launched its latest campaign along with Bluebirds Chips (owned by PepsiCo.) offering free music with every purchase via the website Bandit.FM. Television commercials for this promotion have been the only media presence Pepsi has made of itself recently. The Pepsi web page features a blog about the latest gigs, a youtube channel, and also a twitter page that features guest musicians. Pepsi has always had a reputation for using pop culture icons as its main advertising force. This new logo change looks less sporty and fits more with the scene they are trying to associate themselves with. Pepsi also has accounts with every major social networking site, so as to reach its main target markets.
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The market Pepsi targets itself at primarily is the ages of 18 to 29. Their secondary market is the younger teen audience of about 13 to 18 year olds. They target both male and females on low incomes. Both these groups are intensely interested in partaking in social scenes and are computer literate. This group statistically, is starting to spend more time in front of a computer than a TV. This demographics main concern is staying current with the latest fashions and being socially successful amongst their peers. If they can find products that will enhance their experience in either of these areas they would seriously consider them. Currently Pepsi is seen as weird and “not cool� by the two age groups. It isn’t considered the normal accepted beverage to have. If a small group started taking Pepsi as their beverage of choice, their close peers would become more open to the product as well.
2
Brand Identity Blueprint Brand Value Proposition Rational Functions The most important function of Pepsi is to provide a sweet tasting cola that’s cheaper than its competitors. You can be assured that it won’t poison you. You can trust it as a popular brand. It will be refreshing. Rational Benefits No matter where you go in the world you can be assured it will taste good. You’re left with more money for more important things. It gives you an alternate choice when you don’t feel like the sharper taste of Coca Cola. Declared Emotive Triggers Being sporty. Wanting to talk about the latest music. The fizzy feeling running down their throat, inducing groans of delight. That Pepsi may be a copy of Coke. Undeclared Emotive Triggers The product isn’t quite as mainstream as its closest competitor. It could make its consumers feel “Indy”.
Brand Values It has a focus on the current. It supports local music. It’s about being on the edge, Sports, etc. It’s about change, doing something new. 3
It supports peoples ideas, communities, and things that affect us all. Youth and the next generation.
Unique Difference It isn’t static. It can try new things. It can do things that its competitors can’t. Subversive ads, music give aways, etc.
Brand Essence The unique experience of Pepsi is that it makes me feel part of something larger than myself. An entire generation moving forward together, forever young.
Central Tensions The brand pushes a “New generation” message constantly but at the same time trys to tell us it’s a timeless product. It has to find ways of keeping its imagery current without loosing its history. It tells us that it is a premium product, but with a low price. It continues to compare itself to coke but at the same time trys to tell us it’s something different.
Timeless Equities The Blue Colour scheme. This is it’s defining aesthetic from its main competitor. The ying yang styled globe logo. The edgy advertising. 4
Consumer Research 24 people surveyed 23 chose Coke as their preference
1 chose Pepsi as their preference
When explaining why they preferred Coke
Brand Loyalty 24%
Advertising Campaign 28%
Flavour 48%
Those who cited brand loyalty also mentioned that they grew up with Coke. It has become a family drink to them. Those who cited the advertising campaigns said that it made Coke more desirable to them, it was well known and had a reputation which they enjoyed being associated with.
5
If Pepsi advertised itself more, would you pick it over your current preference?
Yes 4%
Maybe 21%
No 75%
28% mentioned in the last question that advertising was one of the main reasons they preferred Coke over Pepsi. This would account for the 25% open to the possibility of Of the 75% who said no, their most common reason was that the taste of Pepsi was bad. being swayed by advertising.
6
If Pepsi were cheaper?
Yes 13%
Maybe 25%
No 62%
To get people to switch products, 13% more would swap due to price change than they would over better advertising. Currently Pepsi is cheaper than Coke.
7
If Pepsi were more widely available than Coke?
Yes 30%
No 57%
Maybe 13%
Of advertising, pricing, and availability, this came out the strongest for swaying consumers. It had the smallest margin of “Possible” consumers and the largest proportion of “Definite” consumers. This marks Pepsi as the fallback option for Coke but out of the 57% who said no, they also said if Coke wasn’t available they would prefer to have water rather than a different Cola.
8
What makes the two brands different from each other?
History 10%
Adverts/Image 30%
Taste 50%
10% mentioned that the two companies’ histories are a lot different, but that Coke’s history is better known. Its visual history is familiar to target consumers, possibly due to it still being popular to show on shirts and fast food places such as Burger King. 30% said the advertising, imagery, and endorsements of the two companies formed a clear difference. People are conscious of the words that Coke associates itself with in it’s advertising (see next page) and the things it endorses, but aren’t quite sure what Pepsi stands for. 50% stated taste as the deciding difference between the two. They often said that Pepsi is sweeter than coke.
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Associations made with Coke 12
10
red
8
6
4
summer
happy fun refreshment
2
0
Key words that appeared most often with Coke related to ideas they relayed in advertising, rather than words that related directly to the product. The words are all positive, and typical of what Coke makes itself out to be.
10
Associations made with Pepsi 14
12
blue
10
KFC
8
6
4
Copy of Coke
2
Britney Spears
Pizza Hut
0
Associations made with Pepsi related mostly to where they found Pepsi. KFC being what they mainly identified Pepsi with after the colour blue. At no point did people specifically mention ideas that related to Pepsi, other than the negative idea that it is a copy of coke. Only one person associated Pepsi specifically with Music (Not including the Britney Spears keyword). People often struggled to find a third word to associate with Pepsi.
Although the smallest percentage said they would be swayed by advertising, it’s the media saturation of Coke that has become ingrained into consumers thinking of the two products. Pepsi’s lack of media presence has given it a disadvantage of being relatively unknown other than being associated as the budget “Coke Clone”. No amount of logo redesigning will change this stigma. Currently no one knows what their values are. The theory that the cheaper price will draw the target market is flawed. Students and young adults have enough disposable income to pay for what they see as a premium product, and display so much loyalty to that product that they would rather drink water than a cola seen as second best. 11
Refined Brand Identity Blueprint Brand Value Proposition Rational Functions The most important function of Pepsi is to provide a sweet tasting cola that’s cheaper than its competitors. Less sharp and acidic tasting than Coke. You can be assured that it won’t poison you. You can trust it as a popular brand. It will be refreshing. Rational Benefits No matter where you go in the world you can be assured it will taste good. When your really thirst you can drink a large amount without having a bad taste at the back of your throat as is the case with Coke. You’re left with more money for more important things. It gives you an alternate choice when you don’t feel like the sharper taste of Coca Cola. Declared Emotive Triggers Being sporty. That Pepsi is a copy cat product to Coke. Budget cola. Undeclared Emotive Triggers The brand makes the consumer feel a little different from everyone else. It doesn’t fit with the socially accepted norm, which is coke. It’s not their first thought in choice. Some self conscious consumers may enjoy the fact it’s different. But most would shy away from it. Most are not aware of the brand values of the product.
Brand Values It has a focus on the current. It supports local music. 12
It’s about being on the edge, Sports, etc. It’s about change, doing something new. It supports peoples ideas, communities, and things that affect us all. Youth and the next generation.
Unique Difference It isn’t static, it constantly changes its imagery. It can do things that its competitors can’t. Subversive ads, music give aways, etc. It isn’t as fizzy as most other colas.
Brand Essence The unique experience of Pepsi is that it makes me feel part of something larger than myself. An entire generation moving forward together, forever young.
Central Tensions The brand pushes a “New generation” message constantly but at the same time trys to tell us it’s a timeless product. It has to find ways of keeping its imagery current without loosing its history. It tells us that it is a premium product, but with a low price. It continues to compare itself to coke but at the same time trys to tell us it’s something different.
Timeless Equities The Blue Colour scheme. This is it’s defining aesthetic from its main competitor. The ying yang styled globe logo. The edgy advertising.
13
Pepsi.co.nz Website The local Pepsi website is extremely busy, however, it is broken up into three logical sections with the use of the 3 colours Pepsi is associated with. Red
Promotional material and deals
Blue
Music, fun stuff, image and essence building content
Black (Instead of white, so it provides weight for the light blue to rest on) Content for researchers and the overly curious. Transparency about their product. The lighter blue of the second tier is connotative of the hipster lifestyle which is popular within the older demographic Pepsi is aiming at. Overall the site seems to be aiming around the middle of its market. It is vibrant and hip enough for the younger segment, with the Youtube channel, and interesting enough for the music enthusiasts who can keep up with gigs and shows via the Pepsi site. In opposition the Coke website is uninteresting. It sticks with a masculine looking red and black colour scheme. The only content of interest on the Coke site is the latest promotion they’re offering to win $20,000.
14
New Logo/Label Design In late 2008 the new logo was released in America, and has only recently been rolled out in New Zealand. It distils the previously excessive label and logo design into a simple slick icon. The new simple can design looks quite classy when lined up in fridges. The overall style matches that of current fashions in font and design. The only reminder of the old globe logo that remains on the can is the wave on the “e�. Pepsi has always had a reputation for changing its imagery to fit into current pop culture, and what we are seeing is them go through the same pattern. Coke hasn’t changed its design since it was first created in 1885. Since then, it has built up a reputation for being a strong, solid product that has lasted the century.
15
Free Music Commercial This commercial and promotion ran until July 2nd of this year. Every pack of Bluebirds chips, Flemings muesli bars, and Pepsi Cola gave away a small amount of credit to be used on the MP3 download website Bandit.fm. Buying enough of any of the products made it possible to download entire albums of music. The advert contained clips from the band Kingston playing a live show and also enjoying the snacks and drinking Pepsi. The ad had a vibe of an after school commercial, especially with the muesli bars. This was aimed more at the younger segment of Pepsis target audience.
16
The website has a strong, unique identity. It’s nice to browse and look at. In no way can it be compared to the Coca Cola website. This is at least one thing that Pepsi trumps Coke with. It draws visitors’ attention to the fact it strongly supports DJs and local gigs and concerts. The colour schemes and visuals convey a message of being current, fresh, and new, both things that Pepsi strives to associate itself with. Unfortunately, there is no reason for people to visit the site in the first place. No one is aware of what they offer or what content is on there. No advertising for the site has rendered the entire thing pointless. They haven’t tried hard enough to expose themselves to their target markets apart from a paltry attempt at a Facebook page and a Twitter. The blog and Youtube channel that the site links to have been neglected for months. They have a brilliant opportunity to become an online hub for the music scene in New Zealand. By sponsoring and endorsing concerts, this would quickly give them a platform for getting their image and values out there into the scene. This is a relatively untapped market by regular soda beverages, but an online site like this could be easily put together quickly by the Coca Cola company under their energy drink Mother or any of the smaller local energy drink labels that are starting up lately.
17
The new logo design gives off a cool vibe and looks a lot trendier than the previous design. It illustrates strongly how they continue to be a product for a “New Generation.” Unfortunately, the new design alienates a lot of the old consumers who preferred the old design. The designer has remade the logo, rather than improving upon the old one. They could have easily reworked the recognizable 70s logo to fit into today’s “Simplicity is Perfection” ethos. While the logo is very “now” it may not be very “tomorrow.” The design will most likely date quickly, necessitating a new design in the next ten or so years. This constant changing of imagery creates a feeling of identity crisis for the brand. The design doesn’t match the price. It’s giving itself the imagery of an upmarket brand, but is selling itself at budget brand prices. Pepsi has a small window of opportunity with this new design rollout to draw attention to it and create a unique identity for itself. A dramatic change in imagery doesn’t occur that often, and this is an opportune time to get rid of its “Coke clone” associations. A failure to take action now would result in a pointless reimaging of its visual identity. It has already pushed away the older consumers and without the new generation of consumers to take their place, Pepsi may have doomed its already small market share.
18
The latest commercial and promotional giveaway made a great first effort at getting its identity across and connecting with its target markets. It uses technology its main consumers are comfortable with and gives away what it most wants to be associated with. The fact that every purchase guaranteed almost two dollars (the price of a 1.5 litre bottle) free credit on Bandit.fm made it a tempting promotion. As a commercial it seemed a bit cheap. The fact other products were included in the promotion took the spotlight off Pepsi and made it a promotion for just junk food in general. One promotion by itself like this is not enough for consumers to create an idea of Pepsi in their mind. Pepsi should continue these types of promotions for itself to grow public awareness of their product, leaving out the other brands. They should quickly follow it up with some sort of “celebration of music�. The promotion could have directed consumers to the Pepsi website to trade in their codes to bring them into contact with the other things Pepsi is offering, enhancing their image even more. By spending a little more effort on the advert and making it less cheesy they could have captured more of their older segment of audience by advertising on channels like C4 or Juice TV. Pepsi could use the economic downturn as a reason for buying their product. It provides a means to get free entertainment in a time when disposable income is at a low.
19
Overall, Pepsi has everything in place for marketing itself as a unique entity and eventually distancing itself from being considered the weak competitor of Coke. Unfortunately, in New Zealand it hasn’t been proactive in marketing itself properly, and is seeing suffering sales. It assumes since it exists on the internet that it will be noticed by surfers. While its content may be good to its specific demographic, it hasn’t tried finding and luring their target market to its content. It has made little attempt at communicating its differences in the marketplace. The survey has proven that almost no one knows anything at all about the brand or its values. The Cola wars may be an amusing campaign, but it doesn’t give Pepsi a good look. It comes across as confrontational. Comparisons must come to an end if Pepsi wants to become a strong product. Pepsi may find that newer generations will become more health conscious. The low calorie version of their product could be released here in NZ to give Diet Coke a competitor. Currently the brand is sitting in a temporal landscape. Its logo has a “best before” date, and will before long have to design a new one. With this it will once again lose most of its visual property and ideas it has built with its consumers. It’s also attempted to associate itself with something more tangible than ideas like what Coke has done. Ideas like “happiness” and “fun” don’t grow old or date. Pepsi is trying to attach itself to the music scene which is huge amongst young people but something that is made up of a lot of small sub genres and fan bases. Picking popular groups and bands to front Pepsi will quickly put off people who aren’t fans of the particular musician. Also, their reputation will become involved with whoever they have endorsed, such as Britney Spears now being unstable. Bands date quickly as well. Is the “Pepsi Generation” still listening to the Spice Girls?
20
The clubbing scene, which is Pepsi’s main push on their website, makes a good target for energy drinks and alcohol. Pepsi needs to find an edge for getting a share of this particular market. They need to find a way to get their drinks popular to mix with alcohol, similar to rum and Coke if they want to successfully sell themselves to the 18 to 29 age group. Over the coming years Pepsi will have to be extremely proactive if it wants to succeed as a unique brand in Australasia.
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