Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's Marketing Strategies with Music and Emerging Performers

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo invest heavily in marketing to youths worldwide to establish long-term brand loyalty. They use music and emerging performers to evoke emotions, increase brand awareness, enhance the message, entertain the audience, and reinforce sales. Collaborating with young people's favorite bands helps to renew the brand image and reach a wide range of customers. From a consumer behavior perspective, new music and emerging performers appeal to the youthful audience, bring new experiences and emotions, and reach a wider range of customers.

1. What long-term results do you think Coca-Cola and PepsiCo hope to achieve by
investing heavily in marketing to teens around the world?
During the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament, for example, the company scored a
global hit when its TV ads showed the Somali rapper K’naan performing the brand-related
“Flag Wavin’” song.
During another campaign, Coca-Cola invited the popular band Maroon 5 to create a new
song based on suggestions and comments submitted by teens via Facebook and Twitter
during an intense 24-hour jam session—all streamed live online to a global audience.
One of the long-term aims of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo is to be etched in the
collective memory of the whole population.
They encourage people to remember the song and end up identifying it with the
business forever by creating such great marketing campaigns with musical content.
Soft drink giant Pepsi has signed K-pop group Blackpink as its new brand ambassador for
Asia Pacific. The group's four members will be participating in Pepsi's "Go All In For What
You Love" campaign to encourage the next generation to push their limits.
Taylor Swift’s Diet Coke Advertisement
The advertisement’s message is that if you, as a consumer, are to drink Diet Coke, you could
be as extraordinary as Taylor Swift. Since she is a notable celebrity, the company uses Swift
in order to entice her fans to drink their product. Taylor Swift is a world-renowned artist, so if
she drinks Diet Coke, it must be good enough for the common person to drink it too.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo want to establish long-term brand loyalty by investing
extensively in marketing to youths throughout the world. Brand loyalty refers to a
customer's consistent preference for the products of an established firm. Companies build
brand loyalty by relentlessly advertising their names and brands; safeguarding their products
through patents, product inventions, and innovations through ongoing research; and

developing programs that emphasize the production of high-quality products and after-sales
services. Brand loyalty has a beneficial impact on how the consumer sees the product or the
firm. To build brand monarchy, a company must connect a brand to human personalities,
eliciting sentiments of compassion, warmth, and belonging to a product.
The greatest method to create long-term brand loyalty to a product is to instill
sentiments of warmth, love, and belonging in individuals while they are young. The two
organizations realize the need of reaching out to younger audiences, since the adolescent
group is predicted to account for one-third of the world's population by 2025. Humans are
often habitual animals, thus by instilling brand loyalty in teens, they will remain loyal to this
company as they grow older.
Understanding lifestyle choices is critical to Coca-Cola sales, and music is the
canary in the coalmine. Every day, the average American listens to more than four hours of
music. Advertising opportunities abound with consumption spanning from terrestrial radio to
internet streaming and everything in between. Consumer companies like Coca-Cola, for
example, require a more direct approach to the public, which is where multi-million dollar
partnerships with musicians come in useful. An artist's link with a fan base may be used to
make a greater impression on clients while also providing indications about future behavioral
patterns, keeping the organization up to date with modern consumer views and habits.
2. What are the marketing advantages and disadvantages of associating a soft drink
brand such as Coca-Cola or PepsiCo with musical groups that are just beginning their
careers? Do you agree with this strategy? Explain.
Advantages:
Because music is a global language, if the brand represents fresh and cool and is able to break
a new artist as part of the campaign, the song and maybe the act's career success will help the
brand. Brands that include music in their campaigns may increase the campaign's lifespan
and boost perception in the marketplace significantly more than if no music is used.
Moreover use music and musical group also help:
a. Evokes emotions and sparks actions:
Almost all video material relies on music to set the mood and tone. The music that
accompanies ads may create the tone of what the commercial is attempting to express,
whether it's an upbeat, cheerful guitar, a mournful piano arpeggio, or even high-tech
sound effects. More significantly, it is consistent with the brand's values.

Collaborating with young people's favorite bands might make them feel better when
they hear their favorite music and drink the same drink as their idol.
b. Increase brand awareness:
Brands benefit from music in three ways: identity, engagement, and currency. Using
music to develop an emotional connection with a brand, in particular, boosts brand
awareness, generates excitement and buzz beyond the business's core products or
services, and may empower customers by providing them with important material to
explore and share. Music provides the value that companies require to win the
attention battle and establish a true relationship with their customers. When utilized
properly, music fosters not only loyalty but also sincere advocacy.
c. Enhance the message:
One of the best ways to enhance the message is through storytelling.
Between the audience and the brand, stories are a relatable factor. That is why music
is so important in the narrative process. When you're cleaning the dishes after dinner,
music is what will make you look over at the TV. People are more likely to discuss
about campaigns and share them with their networks when they are accompanied by
music.
Music provides clues to the audience, whether they are paying attention or not, that
this time in the tale is significant, whether dramatically or quietly.
d. Entertain the Audience:
A 2004 Pepsi ad was one of the best examples of this.
The music singers may have piqued the interest of millions of fans on their own, but
Pepsi went above and above by enhancing the entertainment value.
The performers performed a brief piece and sang a cover of Queen's "We Will Rock
You" in the commercial. They did this while costumed as gladiators in the
Colosseum.
e. Reinforces the sales:
This is how music helps to sell a product by reinforcing the brand. The music sets the tone for
the target audience and sells the experience of what the company is trying to achieve.
Whether sparking action or creating a story, music is the undeniable factor to help push the
brand.

Knowing the importance of music in marketing, Coca-Cola recruited famed music producer
Mark Ronson and singer Katie B, as well as 5 athletes, to participate in a campaign called
"Move to the Beat" in 2012. Typical Olympic athletes are taking part in the promotion. Coca-
Cola had achieved amazing results by the end of the campaign: 25 million TVC views on
mobile devices and PCs; 1220 individuals had subscribed to Coca-Youtube Cola's channel.1
Disadvantages:
- It may be a marketing approach that removes a group's personality for a certain
audience, and it can also be a contentious group with inappropriate conduct that may
cause concern among an older audience.
- Because advertising is intended to motivate people to take action, a video of a
celebrity acting inappropriately is simple for young people to see and be persuaded
by.
Young audiences are considerably more likely to be drawn in by new and inventive
organizations. Especially when it comes to boy bands or kpop groups. These organizations'
supporters are often ardent admirers with a tremendous capacity for influence on the part of
their heroes. As a result, if these fans link their groups with these companies, they will
develop a stronger attachment to them and become more affiliated with them. For this reason
alone, I believe that this is a benefit to the organization, and they are effective efforts that are
worthwhile; but, there are some drawbacks. For a certain audience, it might be a marketing
tactic that removes the group's personality, and they can also be problematic groups.
3. From a consumer behavior perspective, why would these two companies emphasize
new music and emerging performers in their ads, rather than well known songs and
groups?
● The youthful audience that listens to newer music
Less-known acts are likely to be far more influential than the rest. If people see their
idols promoting a soda drink, they will feel compelled to purchase it since their idol is their
greatest influence.
● It is a benefit and a chance for the organization to renew itself
Feel contemporary and up-to-date with trends, and so acquire a more revitalized and
fresh image.
1

Brands are recognizing and embracing the different methods in which various types of
audiences listen to music, and they are looking for ways and means to benefit from this. With
teens as their primary target audiences worldwide, the two organizations have discovered that
teenagers have a strong preference for new music as well as upcoming talent.
● The upcoming performers advertise their brand while the firms sponsor and
promote their new music.
This is more or less a collaborative process in which the power of each is leveraged. It
is true that a new talent has a stronger connection to the product or brand being marketed than
renting an established talent.
● Young people enjoy the element of surprise in brand image
The proof is that reality singing competition shows every time they air, have a very
high viewership rating and lead the entire chart.
For example, Rap Viet episode 2 set a record of 570,000 viewers on YouTube, going
straight to the top 1 Trending which is sponsored by Pepsico.
● New factors will also bring new experiences and emotions to consumers
While with famous artists or idols who make them feel familiar, new artists can
stimulate customers to be curious, browse and buy.
● Reach a wide range of customers
When popular songs or artists already have a certain fan base, emerging or potentially
famous artists can attract more potential customers in the future thanks to their diversity and
abundance.
References :
[1] Lally, M. (2022, July 21). 20 of the biggest marketing fails of all time (and why they
sucked). Business 2 Community. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from
https://www.business2community.com/marketing/20-of-the-biggest-marketing-fails-of-all-
time-and-why-they-sucked-02287809
[2]Cummings, M. (2022, February 9). Pepsi imperfect - a marketing failure 25 years in the
making. BRIDGE. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.thebridgecorp.com/pepsi-
imperfect/

[3] Lorenzo, G. (2020, January 13). 20 companies with the Best Digital Marketing
Campaigns: Lorenzo Gutierrez. Lorenzo Gutierrez Digital Marketing. Retrieved October 21,
2022, from https://lorenzogutierrez.net/2020/01/15-companies-with-the-best-digital-
marketing-campaigns/
[4] tillman, lily. (2020, February 21). Case study: PepsiCo & Kendall Jenner's
controversial commercial. astute. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://astute.co/pepsi-
kendall-jenner-commercial/
[5] Jallow, Assan, A Strategic Case Study on PepsiCo (April 17, 2021). Available at SSRN:
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3828353 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3828353
[6] Olenski, S. (2022). Why Music Plays A Big Role When It Comes To Branding. Retrieved
11 March 2022, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2014/02/06/why-music-
plays-a-big-role-when-it-comes-to-branding/?sh=132889e87b6b
[7] 5 Ways Music Enhances Commercials: Music and Advertising. (2020). Retrieved 11
March 2022, from https://www.chatterbuzzmedia.com/blog/the-relationship-between-music-
and-advertising-5-ways-music-enhance-commercials/
[8] Ashley, C. (n.d.). Coca-Cola and music: A case study. Music Business Journal. Retrieved
October 21, 2022, from http://www.thembj.org/2017/05/coca-cola-and-music-a-case-study/