Gen-Z, Millennial Opps: Pepsi launches soda-infused pizza (Score 62)

Pepsi's newest cheeky product activation, cola-infused pepperoni pizza, just debuted. The launch is part of Pepsi's ongoing "Better With Pepsi" messaging platform, which gained attention last year. The brand claims that Pepsi is the best soda for pizza, so it helped fans skip an extra step and simply merged the two. To celebrate National Pizza Party Day on May 20, Pepsi handed out free slices of the new limited-edition pizza in Manhattan. Pepsi's focus on one-off activations and product releases is growing, so it will likely invest in similar experiential activations.

This is not Pepsi's only recent innovative launch; in March, it rolled out a version of its classic soda infused with nitrogen (see video above) and a maple syrup-flavored beverage via a partnership with IHOP. Pepsi's creativity is paying off. The brand had been in decades-long decline before almost four years ago; it has now had 15 consecutive quarters of sales growth, per Pepsi CMO Todd Kaplan.

So far this year, iSpot reports the brand has spent approximately $34.2m on national TV commercials, down 23% from the approximately $44.6m spent by this point last year. Pepsi ended up spending approximately $59.4m on this channel last year, down 27% from the approximately $80.9m spent in 2020. The brand's 2022 commercials have targeted a male-skewed audience via shows such as NFL Football, the Super Bowl LVI Pregame, the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, Ridiculousness and The Office.

According to Pathmatics, Pepsi has allocated roughly $6.6m toward digital ads YTD, down 40% from the roughly $11m it allocated within the same 2021 timeframe. The brand's estimated full-year 2020 spend jumped more than 4x to $29.4m from that of the $6.5m in 2020. Since the beginning of 2022, Pepsi has earned ~665.8m digital impressions via Instagram (35%), Facebook (32%), desktop video/YouTube (32%) and Twitter (1%) ads. 

Right now, the brand's messaging is nostalgic and its marketing strategy is futuristic in order to reach nostalgic millennials and younger Gen-Z. CMO Kaplan specified that he's focused on diversifying Pepsi's marketing strategy via not just paid media but earned and social media as well. Per Kantar data, the brand also utilizes radio, OOH, print and local broadcast. It holds planning conversations in Q2 and buying conversations in Q1.

Agency & martech readers - Parent company PepsiCo is still vulnerable to review due to recent leadership shifts, so contact soon, if you haven't yet done so, to see what work you can secure. Your competition includes media AOR OMD, creative AOR Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, digital AOR Kepler Group, creative and digital AOR Juniper Park\ TBWA and creative and digital AOR TBWA \ Chiat \ Day.