A ‘Refreshing’ Look at Social Media
The Super Bowl is the most watched sporting event in America. Fans pay almost as much attention to the commercials as they do the game. Companies spend millions of dollars for a 30 second spot during the game, but this year, for the first time in 23 years, Pepsi will not run a Super Bowl ad.
Pepsi Refresh Project
Since 1999 Pepsi has spent over $142 million dollars on Super Bowl advertising, this year they are giving away $20 million as part of a social media campaign called the Pepsi Refresh Project. The campaign, which launches January 13, 2010, aims to give people, business and non-profits an opportunity to come up with ideas that will have a positive impact on their community.
Once the ideas are submitted, people use Facebook, Twitter, MySpace or their blog to drive people to the site Refresh Everything to vote for their idea. Voting opens Febuary1, 2010 and the top 32 vote getters will win a Refresh grant anywhere from $5,000-250,000. The project accepts 1000 ideas each month.
Marketing Savvy for a Good Cause
Promoting a project such as Refresh will allow Pepsi to reach the coveted 18-34 year old demographic that increasingly is turning from traditional marketing to social media. A Media Post survey found that 85% of the people in this age group use social media to connect with people. If Pepsi can pull this off, it will not only help their bottom line with a moderately low cost per action, but help some communities as well.
