Pepsi Refresh
In lieu of a multi-million dollar Super Bowl ad spend, Pepsi has officially launched their year-long “Pepsi Refresh” campaign. Pepsi’s large scale campaign combines crowdsourcing, cause marketing and social channel integration. As of yesterday, the Pepsi Refresh site is open to submissions from individuals, non-profits and pro-social businesses that can make a positive impact in the community. Pepsi is accepting submissions in six categories: Health, Food and Shelter, Arts and Culture, The Planet, Neighborhoods and Education – and will award grants in tiered amounts from $5,000 all the way up to $250,000. Public voting on accepted submissions for the month of January opens February 1st, and winners will be announced soon after voting is closed on February 28th. The submission, voting and awards process will be ongoing throughout 2010.
Pepsi’s bold move marks the first time since 1987 that the brand will not advertise in the Super Bowl. I applaud Pepsi for recognizing the value of an ongoing initiative that has the potential to create lasting impact, rather than spending the same amount of money on one day’s worth of ads during the Super Bowl. It will be interesting to watch the buzz surrounding not only the campaign, but also around individual and business promotion of the idea submissions once voting begins.
Check out Pepsi Refresh on Facebook and the Pepsi Refresh blog, or submit your own idea here.
