Pepsi Iced Cucumber: Product failure or strategic success

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Pepsi Iced CucumberProduct failure or strategic
success

• Stanley Cornett, Natalie Lanza, Cassandra Pedrosa

2
Background

• Divisions
• Frito-Lay North America (Fritos, Doritos,
  Tostitos)
• PepsiCo Beverages North America (Pepsi, Sierra
  Mist, Gatorade)
• Quaker Foods North America (Aunt Jemima, Life
  Cereal, Oatmeal)
• PepsiCo International (all of the above,
  international)

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International Division

• Size
• Brand Loyalty
• Span
• Mexico
• United Kingdom

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Competition

• Coca Cola Company
• Soft Drinks
• Energy Drinks
• Sports Drinks

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Edges and Weaknesses in Competition

• Size and Span advantage
• Bolstered by Snack Industry
• Innovative Marketing Techniques
• CocaCola is more focused
• Edge in the US market for soft drinks.

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Article Summary

• Pepsis Ice Cucumber Soda was developed to only
  stay on the shelf for a few days
• Part of a new fad strategy known as gentei
• The product was flying off the shelf yet still
  discontinued
• Used as a marketing stunt

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Article Summary

• If sales drop, product was removed from shelf
• Product was a hit on YouTube
• Part of the ephemeral trend
• Candy bar comparison
• Pepsi and Suntory have collaborated before

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Extra Information

• Coca-Cola sticks to opposite strategy and loses
  market share
• 30 billion a year business in Japan
• 1,500 new drinks come to market each year

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Article Summary

• This strategy has boosted Pepsis market share
  from 10-20 since the mid 90s
• The stunt re-kindled interest in Pepsi Nex
• Gentei fad leads to difficulty in building brand
  loyalty
• Strategy must be done in moderation

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Marketing Implications

• Japanese culture
• Homogeneous population
• High context
• High uncertainty avoidance
• Fewer innovators

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Marketing Implications

• Problem to market in this culture
• Adoption distribution curve in Pacific Rim skewed
  to the left
• Solution build brand awareness

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Marketing Implications

• How do you build brand awareness?
• Publicity
• Youtube.com
• Blogs
• Discussion boards

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Marketing Implications

• Internet replaces traditional forms of marketing
  communications like
• Sponsorship
• Infomercials
• Directmails

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Marketing Implications

• Pepsi Ice Cucumber didnt win Ted
• Do you think Pepsi still wins in the end?
• Any Questions?