The market for carbonated soft drinks represents one of the largest and most lucrative targets in the United States and around the world. Coca-Cola and Pepsi have dominated the industry for many years. As the competition continues to evolve, each seeks out groups to attract and retain. Recently, PepsiCo reinvigorated its own efforts to capture the Hispanic share in the United States.
Advertising Age reported that in 2004 PepsiCo ranked number 6 on the magazine's list of the Top 50 Advertisers in Hispanic Media, spending $68.5 million. Then, the company had dropped to number 27, spending $41 million in 2007. The next year, the company dropped off the list and remained in that position for four years. At the same time, Coca-Cola dropped its spending dramatically to the same group, although the organization still spent $29.8 million in 2011, with a ranking of number 48 on the Top 50 list.
Javier Farfan, senior director for cultural branding at PepsiCo, noted that, "One of the key reasons I came here is to figure out how to dive deeper into the Hispanic space." Suggesting that the company had somewhat "lost its way," Farfan said, "In the carbonated category, exponentially, growth is going to come from Latinos. There's the population growth, but we're also more prone to drink soda. So it became really important and strategic for Pepsi to get into that space."
One of the outcomes was the "Vive Hoy" or "Live for Now" campaign and tagline associated with a new wave of television commercials. Farfan noted, "There's a new mainstream evolving. It's a different state of mind. Latinos don't want to be separate; they want to be included. "We want to nod and wink to them in places where they actually engage with media. Latinos watch MTV as much as Univision."45
Pepsi launched the "Vive Hoy" campaign to attract Hispanic consumers.
To more fully attract Hispanic patrons, Pepsi launched two new products, Paradise Mango and Cherry Vanilla. Both were designed to attract Hispanic customers.
In addition to mainstream advertising and new products, Marketing Daily notes another fertile ground. Hispanic consumers are "Social Media Catalysts," according to the magazine. A recent study conducted for Unilever revealed that Hispanic consumers are "twice as likely to either share content or click on shared content than Americans in general." The report's data indicates that, "Hispanic consumers are also more influential on social media: content they share garners more "click-backs" (the act of clicking shared links to view the shared content) than content shared by non-Hispanic consumers."
Although Hispanic consumers read more on mobile devices than other groups, they are less inclined to share from those devices. At the same time, the youngest Hispanic consumers do not have reservations about sharing from mobile devices, which indicates the potential to reach them in ways that would lead to a larger community of advocates for Pepsi.46
The next generation of marketing efforts will likely integrate messages for Hispanic and non-Hispanic consumers as society becomes more blended. The net result will likely be an expanding marketplace for companies that are able to attract individual groups while at the same time reaching the mainstream audience.