For all the talk about social media marketing (and there’s been a lot of it this year), the biggest news of the year may be Pepsi’s decision to abandon the Super Bowl. Instead, Pepsi will be embracing a $20-million social media campaign called The Pepsi Refresh Project in which consumers will be encouraged to suggest projects to make a better world.
The significance of Pepsi’s decision should not be overlooked given it has spent $142-million over the past 10 years on Super Bowl ads, which costs millions of dollars to make and broadcast. The fact Pepsi has pulled out completely is stunning – perhaps as stunning as Apple’s decision to do a Super Bowl ad in 1984.
It’s also a tremendous boost for social media. To be frank, 2009 has been the year of talk in which everyone has enthusiastically extolled the benefits of social media’s ability to engage and have conversations with customers in an open and transparent way. What Pepsi has done is turn talk into walk.
The question is whether Pepsi’s decision will be the straw the break’s the back of traditional media advertising. In the words, will other companies get on the social media marketing bandwagon now that a high-profile company such as Pepsi is doing it?
My take is that looking back a year from now, people will point to Pepsi’s move as the turning point for social media marketing.
For more, check out Larry Woodard’s article in ABC News/Money.
One Comment
I don’t know how any corporate executive could go to his board of directors in 2009/2010 and get them to sign-off on a 3 million dollar 30 second television commercial. The ROI as compared to those same ad dollars spent online, in a much more targeted way mind you, is basically inarguable at this point. The Toys “R” Us Facebook campaign referenced in the article by Larry Woodard should serve as Exhibit “A,” especially if you are targeting your ads towards the 18-34 demographic. If you want to reach and influence the younger market, there should be no doubt that social media marketing is the only way to go. And to your point, Pepsi’s decision may very well be the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back” of traditional media advertising.
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