Pepsi Market Targeting
Market targeting is the process of evaluating each market segment’s attractiveness and selecting one or more segments to enter.
The target market of Pepsi is young generation.
According to Mr. P. S. Tariq, the target market of Pepsi also includes the child who is able to pronounce Pepsi as "Bebsi".
It attracts its target market by using different techniques or different strategies.
Following are some of the plans that the organization uses.
01. By opening Cricket Clubs for the young generation in which the organization hire famous cricketers like Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Abdur Razzak. These cricketers clubs serve two purposes. The first is that the younger generation is provided with an opportunity to learn playing cricket. The other is that through these clubs, the cricketers as well as the young generation come closer to Pepsi.
02. way of attracting their target market is by sponsoring famous celebrities like Junaid Jamshed, Strings and Haroon. These singers are famous among a majority of individuals and when they perform in the concerts sponsored by Pepsi, they also serve as a promotional tool for the organization.
03. In order to attract its target market, Pepsi also provides scholarship to students who belong to poor families and are performing the best in their respective fields.
04. Another way used by the organization to attract their target audience is that they arrange educational trips of institutes. Then they provide the students with information regarding their working conditions and environment, their methods of production, and the technology used etc. at the end of the trip, the organization provides the students with the stickers of Pepsi, their posters, foot rulers, pencils, note books, and a broach-er about the history of Pepsi.
05. The organization also introduces many different schemes in which the participants can win different gifts like a CD player, T-shirts, bikes, free return tickets etc.
Thus in this way Pepsi keeps on bringing new and attractive packages for its target market to keep them in touch with PEPSI.
1. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Vow to Stop Targeting Adverts to Under-12s by End of Year 2008
21 May 2008 - Concerned by child obesity, the International Council of Beverages Associations (ICBA), which represents the global non-alcoholic beverage industry, has adopted new guidelines on marketing to children.
The ICBA said that soft drink giants The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo both intend to implement the Guidelines in all countries around the world by the end of 2008. "We know that children are increasingly exposed to marketing messages across more mediums and your need for greater control and guidance has been heightened. It is for this reason that we have broadened our "Advertising and Marketing to Children Policy" to include all of our beverages, so that children under the age of 12 will not be directly targeted by any of our marketing messages in traditional advertising mediums, nor will they be shown drinking any of our products outside of the presence of a parent or a caregiver", the Coca-Cola Company said in a company statement. With the new guidelines, beverage companies will voluntarily eliminate advertising and marketing of a wide range of beverages, including carbonated soft drinks, to any audience that is comprised predominantly of children under 12. This policy includes media sources such as TV, radio, print, Internet, phone messaging and cinema (including product placement). The ICBA will also look into other forms of marketing, including sponsorships, presence in schools, and point-of sale promotions by the end of 2009. The ICBA, however, adds that the policy does not cover water, juices and dairy-based beverages, as these segments are not represented by all ICBA members. Alain Beaumont secretary general of the Union of European Beverages Associations (UNESDA) said: "The non-alcoholic beverage industry produces a wide variety of beverages, all of which can be part of a healthy lifestyle. However, as parents and grandparents ourselves, we recognize that children may be more susceptible to marketing campaigns and may not always be able to make the right dietary choices for themselves. Parents are telling us they want to be the gatekeepers. We are listening and want to protect their role so that we can work together to help teach children around the world how to make more informed choices.” Commenting on the new guidelines, consumer group the Center for Science in the Public Interest's legal Director Bruce Silver glade said:” The global commitment announced today by Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and other soft drink companies to stop targeting advertising to children under 12 is based on a weak policy followed in the United States, which suffers from one of the highest childhood obesity rates in the world". "Coke and Pepsi never did heavy-duty direct advertising to kids under 12 in the U.S., but instead marketed to American children through other means such as advertising on TV programs viewed by families. The results have been disastrous for childhood obesity rates in the U.S. Instead of mimicking the U.S. policy worldwide, the companies should have agreed to the stricter curbs demanded by the British government and to an International Code of Marketing of Foods and Beverages to Children that has been proposed by consumer organizations world-wide", he added.
"The ICBA guidelines were developed within the framework of a wider food and drinks industry commitment to collaborate with the World Health Organization (WHO) and other stakeholders to help implement the 2004 WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health. They are the first, sector-specific step in a broader movement that will include a variety of initiatives and a large number of food and beverage partners", the ICBA said.
2. PepsiCo Could be Targeting Parle Agro Drinks in India
1 August 2007 - Last week, FLEXNEWS reported that PepsiCo's Indian branch, PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt. Ltd., was close to purchasing a juice brand in India. According to PepsiCo India's CEO, Sanjeev Chadha, the acquisition target had been identified. However Parle Agro is a leading food and beverage company based in Mumbai. Sources have told the paper that PepsiCo India has mandated a merchant banker to do a due diligence on the brands.
In July, FLEXNEWS reported that PepsiCo India was considering several acquisitions this year in the domestic dairy beverage, juice and convenience food domains.
The company was in the process of identifying takeover targets and was considering partnering its snacks division Frito-Lay in the acquisitions
PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi had reportedly told the Indian branch to focus on the purchase of local brands - which could be region-specific or national - with strong brand equity and reach.
3. Pepsi and Targeting Influential
Fizz Buzz: Recently, Pepsi launched an aggressive (I mean that in a good way), targeted campaign in support of the launch of their new logo design. You can find out about that at The Pepsi Cooler. As part of the campaign they sent materials and information to 25 influential marketing bloggers (thanks to Don Grothoff and Darryl Parker for the continuing detective work). There’s been a lot of chatter in the online marketing community about the cans, and the campaign. Pepsi certainly did a good job targeting influencers – Chris Brogan, Greg Verdino, PSFK, C.C. Chapman and Rohit Bhargava all received goodies. From there, people like RobWalker picked up the story. So, mission accomplished from this aspect: Many of the most important, most influential, thinkers from the marketing world are talking about Pepsi and their new brand identity. And now I’m talking about it, so it has really trickled down to the bottom of the marketing food chain. But I wonder, did Pepsi target consumer advocates in addition to targeting marketing influentials? I don’t know the answer to this, they very well may have, or may be planning to do so in a second wave. But I think it’s important to look at the distinction between the two groups. Influential marketers will talk about the brand and debate the merits of the new logo. Some will like it, others will be. But I wonder what the objective of this tactic is? Let’s say all 25 marketing bloggers love the new branding. What does that translate to? Better sales? Awareness of the new logo? Not sure. I’d imagine that most of these bloggers will move on pretty quickly and not linger on this topic for too long. Now compare that with what might have happened had (or when) Pepsi targets brands advocates, and surely there are plenty of bloggers out there – sports bloggers, political bloggers, pet blogggers – who love Pepsi. What if they had been given a sneak peek at the new logo, or been made part of the process. They’d be talking about Pepsi for months, and as self-described fans of Pepsi it would more than likely be very positive.