Lessons from Pepsi’s strategy on Twitter

1. Lessons from Pepsi’s Strategy on Twitter
Pradeep Oli, 19th January 2013

2. Twitter helped to humanize the Pepsi brand
Consumers own the brands as much as the organization and
they want to share their interests and likes
Twitter is the medium where there is a two-way continuous
dialogue about the brand

3. Twitter... For Two-way Continuous Dialogue
• For years, PepsiCo has had a toll-free number that
consumers can call to share product feedback. People
call in all the time and the company considers the line
successful
• But when Pepsi brand managers wanted faster and
more personal ways to connect with soft drinks
enthusiasts they looked online and the team started
using Twitter to listen to and talk with consumers.
The brand twitters as @Pepsi, The corporation twitters as
@PepsiCo

4. Twitter… To Reach New Audience
• Interestingly, the company finds the conversations on
Twitter are different from those on the toll-free line
• The callers were focused on products. Twitterers, on the
other hand tend to have opinions not just on the products
but on promotions too. They feel they are invited to give
their opinions on how the brand should move forward and
they were very detailed.
• In one of the campaign the company was very successful on
collecting quick reactions on Twitter about the bottle
packaging. Even sometime very simple reactions like “How
many Pepsis do you drink a day?” generates a lot of chatter

5. Twitter… For Fast Response
• Pepsi brand managers find that Twitter is useful not
only for quick responses from consumers but for quick
responses from the company too
• When Michael Jackson who made high-profile
commercials for Pepsi during the 1980s died suddenly,
the company used Twitter right away in its “Thank you,
Michael” tribute, engaging with fans
• Twitter means Company can react to something that
happens and provide a platform for dialogue. It’s about
engagement and building the relationship

6. Twitter… Dealing With Complaints
• Although Pepsi finds that nearly all of the conversation on
Twitter is very positive, people do sometimes complain via
tweets. The brand managers try to address negative
comments very quickly
• If somebody doesn’t like a piece of advertising the
company accepts that. But if a person has had a problem
with a product or is attacking the company in some way,
Pepsi has a process in place to resolve the issue directly.
The company responds once in public, and if the person
stays negative, they switch to direct mail and then to email
and phone. Internally, a cross-functional team can help
solve problems

7. Twitter… Consistent Brand Presence
• Tone of voice, how to respond to certain types of
comments—help Pepsi maintain a consistent brand
presence on its Twitter account.
• Pepsi requires that staffers maintain personal
accounts on social media sites not to interact on
behalf of the brand, but to learn about the channels.

8. Twitter… Measuring Success
• Like many brands, Pepsi looks at the number of
followers it has. But the company also looks at the
sentiment of tweets, rating them on a scale from
positive to negative.
• The balance changes from week to week and the
company is still figuring out what affects consumer
feeling and how to measure it

9. Thank you!