Essay Sample on "Pepsico.'s Live for Now"

Marketing communication is an important part of the company as it represents how a company communicates with the market through its messages and media used to dialogue and foster relationships with consumers (Finne & Gronroos 2017; Falat & Holubcik 2017). It enables companies to strategically position themselves for more competitiveness in the market (Zentes et al. 2018). Through marketing communications, consumer buying behaviors and patterns are influenced which impact on products and services available in the market (Hanninen & Karjaluoto 2017; Duralia 2018). Consumer behavior enables marketers to understand factors that influence consumers buying decisions, identify products that are relevant, and make decisions on product presentation that can convert them to buy the product (Haji 2018). Consumer behavior analysis reveals consumers' thoughts and feelings about different brands and products, what affects their choices, influences from their environment, and trends in shopping.

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As a global leader in food and beverage, PepsiCo has abroad product portfolio which generates huge revenues of more than $65 billion annually. The company makes hundreds of pleasant foods and beverages and is committed to sustainable growth by promising to minimize its impact on the environment, providing a great place to work, and respecting, supporting, and investing in the communities in their place of operation. Pepsi soda and cans can be found conveniently at vending machines, restaurants, supermarkets, grocery stores, and gas stations among others. PepsiCo's broader product base which includes foods, snacks, and beverages means more competitors including Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Foods, Inca Kola, RC Cola, Afri Cola and so many more (Zhang 2019).

The first global campaign advertisement, "Live for now", was unveiled in 2017 and was aimed at creating a global positioning (Rama et al. 2018). The research then showed that their fans enjoyed capturing the excitement of now and living to the fullest and it connected with consumers globally who shared the same values and mindset as Pepsi loyalists. The campaign was to position the brand in the market. Due to widespread criticism, the advertisement was pulled down and discontinued just a day after distribution with the company apologizing for it. The company said it aimed to project a message of peace, unity, and understanding and had no intention of making light any serious issue.

The company is faced with high competition and social responsibility as well as environmental concerns for sustainability (Rama et al. 2018). These factors have greatly influenced the brand and consumer patterns on its products. Dealing in only one line of production, food, and beverage has also limited market diversification. The company should diversify more and develop the use of eco-friendly, sustainable packing materials for soda cans and bottles.

Micro Market Literature review

While making decisions consumers go through different processes which include identifying their needs, gathering information about the products, evaluating alternatives and finally making their buying decision (Panwar et al. 2019). After purchasing an item, the consumer reflects on its worth and feedback to give, and whether they can recommend it to others (Shori 2016). Before making the final purchase, the consumer will evaluate choices so as to get the best from options available (Stankevich 2017). At this stage, product reviews can help increase engagement thereby increasing chances of convincing the customer that the company's product is the best (Panwar et al. 2019) . Companies can make use of user-generated reviews and also those on their sites to stand out and beat completion as well as increase consumer loyalty (Stankevich 2017).

There are several factors that influence consumer buying decisions which can be divided into three, which is, personal factors like age and gender, psychological factors which involve views, beliefs and attitudes, and social factors like family, friends, social media and income level (Hanaysha 2018). Consumer behaviors can be categorized into four; complex buying behavior which involves researching before committing to buy, dissonance-reducing buying behavior involves the consumer worrying they will regret their choices as they find it difficult to make choices, habitual buying behavior which is characterized by the fact that consumers buy their preferred products but have less contribution in the product or brand type, and lastly variety seeking buying behavior which mainly occurs as consumers seek variety (Tiagi 2018). Marketing campaigns are important as they influence buying decisions and can help persuade consumers to go for other brands or even make consumers do impulse buying. They also serve as a reminder for products and services that do not cross the mind of consumers regularly (Dahl & Fridh 2019).

When a company understands what the users want and their needs, it is able to incorporate in product design and produce better user experiences. This drives consumer conversion and revenue. Research shows that brands that excel in Customer Experience Index gain more revenue and faster growth compared to others (Lemon & Verhoef 2016). This calls for ensuring UX is well integrated in digital marketing efforts by encouraging feedback and reviews and questions and answers. PepsiCo's digital platform does well in this segment by encouraging reviews and using user-generated reviews on their site (Geller & Higgins 2019).

Segmentation

Pepsi Brand has effectively used segmentation through dividing its brand into three segments which are Pepsi Max, Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Next which shows multiple market segments for one product (Sheth & Koschmann 2019). PepsiCo itself uses multiple products and market strategy as it owns 22 brands that deal with multiple products. The company's geographical market segments are international though it's dominant in the Americas. Demographically they choose to influence the young audience and uses psychographic segmentation by appealing to the pop culture and also by considering consumers who are health conscious who are covered by the Pepsi Max which is low in calories (Yadav et al. 2016).

Targeting

The target market is mostly youths from 18-35 year olds and embraces both males and females who are reached through different forms of marketing like the use of social media though men (52.6%) preferred Pepsi over women at (47.4%). Studies show that preference for Pepsi decreases with age especially over 35 years of age, while its highest at 18-24 years of age at 25.9% (Simmons OneView, 2014). The company's preference for younger audiences is revealed from the studies as preference reduces with age. PepsiCo applies both business-to-customer as well as business-to-business marketing strategies in its brand awareness and positioning. B2C strategies are mostly used in increasing product awareness to increase its customer base and also build loyalty among its customers.

Positioning

The slogan for Pepsi "Live for Now" is aimed at positioning the brand in the market and making it the brand choice for many as it presents the view that when one drinks Pepsi, their lifestyle becomes robust, content, and adventurous (Rahman 2019). It was to change how consumers viewed their products in comparison to those of their competitors.

Marketing Strategies

One of the marketing strategies used is partnering with celebrities who influence lots of consumers causing the consumer preference to shift towards the company rather than their competitors (Novoselova & Gomez 2018). Celebrities include Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Beyonce and Jenner. The company also used live TV as a means of increasing its channels for marketing communication by partnering with Academy Awards to celebrate cinema moments.

Utilization of communication mix is also dominant at Pepsi where it prefers advertising and promotions instead of direct marketing and public relations (Novoselova & Gomez 2018). For example, in 2013, advertising spending on Pepsi and other brands on soft drinks was increased from $500 million to $600 million (Kusar & Mill 2016). Social media is also used intensely by PepsiCo. An example is from 2010 where the company chose social media campaign over television commercials for Super Bowl advertising to enable better connection with the youth.

Pepsi has since then used social media for their advertisements and to increase market efficiency as it connects and engages consumers. The company's site was used for its "Live for Now" campaign where Messages from Facebook and Twitter are included through #LiveForNow hashtags (Kusar & Mill 2016). The digital dashboard is connected to pop culture and Pepsi Pulse gets those with a niche for pop culture get real-time experiences with celebrities by being able to tweet and receive tweets from celebrities about their "Live for Now" moments (Novoselova & Gomez 2018).

Through the use of marketing campaigns that involve partnering with celebrities, PepsiCo's appeal to the target market which is mainly the younger audiences is made effective and this helps in brand positioning (Novoselova & Gomez 2018). PepsiCo's marketing mix has also increased brand awareness and helped position it in the market globally as the products include health conscious brands, they have comprehensive distribution channels, low prices, and global promotions. Companies use customer journey maps in user experience design in various functions of the firm to understand their customers better and design products that align best with customer wants and needs (Rajavi et al. 2019).

Conclusion

PepsiCo's " Live for Now" advertisement was considered controversial and intensely criticized by people as playing down serious issues like protests against police killing black people as in their copied imagery from Black Lives Matter movement (Rama et al. 2018). The company was accused of using serious issues in the like of protests to sell its products and did not consider the danger and frustrations felt by protestors. The company's use of Ms. Jenner as a peacemaker approaching the police was compared to that of Ieshia Evans who approached the police but in defiance which contrasted with the peace message the company said it intended to portray. The phrase "living for now," was interpreted as if the company cared less about tomorrow (Rahman 2019). The campaign's initial positioning strategy for global brand awareness through the advert failed as it missed the mark to reach out to consumers.

The slogan though continued to work well for the company as it reveals the robust and fun nature associated with the brand and related well with activities on its digital platform (Rahman 2019). To make the advert better, the company needed to carry out thorough research and consider social responsibility which relates to the general welfare of the society (Yadav et al. 2016). An initial survey to counter-check its effect would have helped re-design the advert in a more appropriate, pleasant, and consumer-sensitive manner (Rahman 2019). This is because consumer behaviors are influenced by many factors which stem from the personal level to the group level as well as the values and attributes they hold.