PepsiCo Responds to Spontaneous Consumer Chatter

 

“The insights gained from listening to what consumers and other stakeholders are saying are very valuable and can influence business decisions,” says Steve Caudill, PepsiCo International Center of Excellence Go-to-Market Lead. 

 

When PepsiCo employees participate in consumer dialogue — in controlled environments, like brand, web and social sites, or uncontrolled environments, like consumer blogs — they try to speak with a consistent, authentic voice that resonates well with the audience. To ensure this, the PepsiCo digital media team encourages its 300,000 associates around the world to become ambassadors for its brands. There is now a social media policy in place, a training course to guide employee interactions online, and reference materials to enable employees to comfortably talk about the company and its brands.

 

Nowhere else is the impact of social media and the ability to capture and capitalize on conversation more evident than in the story of the “The People’s Chip” and PepsiCo’s subsidiary Smith’s Snackfood Company (www.smiths.com.au).

 

As the story goes, Hamish & Andy (www.hamishandandy.com), a popular Australian radio duo, began an on-air conversation about potato chip flavors in 2008. A representative of  Smith’s just happened to be listening at the time and phoned into the show to explain how chip flavors are developed. The topic of potential chip flavors was so popular among listeners that Hamish & Andy launched a campaign to develop a flavor based on their ideas. 

 

An online survey connected to the station’s web site collected more than 400,000 votes, which in the end deemed “gravy” as the winning flavor for “The People’s Chip”.

 

By being in the right place and the right time and responding quickly, Smith’s was able to involve itself in “The People’s Chip” campaign from the start.  The company developed three gravy flavors, from which Hamish & Andy selected a winner. 

 

The radio show hosted a “chip-a-palooza” event to celebrate the launch of the chip, which gained coverage in radio, television and in print media. Smith’s manufactured two small promotional batches for the occasion, which were quickly consumed. They then scheduled a larger run of 500,000 bags for a two-week sales campaign across Australia’s major retailers. They instead sold out in a matter of days.

 

Social media buzz was widespread. Hamish & Andy’s blog got the most activity, but the campaign also spawned activity on Flickr, YouTube, Facebook and other blogs, with people discussing the show, the chip, the flavor and the product releases. 

 

“People expressed positive excitement and anticipation,” reports Caudill. “The main negative reaction was from consumers who were disappointed that they could not buy ‘The People’s Chip’ because they sold out so quickly.”

 

You can’t find Smith’s gravy-flavored chip in stores now, but the company plans to use consumer demand to drive more flavors. 

 

“Perhaps gravy flavor fans will use their voice to bring it back,” closes Caudill.   

 

 

 

You can become a fan of “The People’s Chip” on one of its many fan-launched Facebook pages. One page boasts 5,709 members, who banded together to encourage Smith’s to mass-produce the gravy-flavored chip.

 

PepsiCo has a reputation for continuously turning consumer ideas into tangible products and programs. The Pepsi Refresh Project, for example, empowers consumers to bring ideas to life that help move communities forward. The American public cast more than 87 million votes on the campaign’s web site in 2010.

 
WORDS OF WISDOM

“Our consumers are passionate about our brands, so it’s our job to find new ways to connect with shoppers.”