How PepsiCo India cashed in on digital to drive engagement this festive season

It has been a year of uncertainty so when the festive season came, brands unleashed advertising blitzkrieg however this time the strategy followed was a tad different — from collaborating with celebrities, influencers to rolling out specially curated offerings, among others. “Each year, consumers look forward to unique offerings and experiences from brands during the festive season. This year, consumers wanted brands to stick to the form of messaging that empathetic with the current situation and therefore build trust,” Dilen Gandhi, senior director, and category head – Foods, PepsiCo India, told BrandWagon Online.

PepsiCo, therefore, undertook several initiatives for several of its brands. For instance, for its snack brand Kurkure it unveiled a limited-edition festive hamper, exclusively curated by designer Masaba Gupta. As for its crisp brand Lay’s, the company rolled out 18 special limited-edition Lay’s Kholo packs this festive season. The brand had tied with telecom operator Airtel and through its packs it offered free data to customers. “The idea behind these initiatives is rooted in two key insights. First, data is the most important currency today and people across generations are spending more hours indoors than ever before. Second, that in-home consumption is witnessing a significant uptake. As people continue to spend more time at home with their families, there is an increase in demand for snacks and beverages,” he elaborated.

Given the rise in consumption of content online, these initiatives were promoted through digital-first campaigns aimed at driving consumer engagement through celebrities, cricketers, and social media influencers. As per Gandhi, the company’s marketing spends are governed by where its consumers are, with strategies being developed after careful analysis of the target audience including the time spent on the Internet. “Our insights suggest that digital has been very effective. While our campaigns have seen presence across other channels such as TV, most of them have had a successful digital leg. Hence, we will continue to follow the digital approach in the future as well,” he added. The company claims to have engaged with around 2,500 micro-influencers for the Lay’s Khol campaign, resulting in an engagement of 10 million. The limited-edition Kurkure and Masaba hamper resulted in driving engagement with more than 1.2 million users over a period of three days.

Further, post recent tie-ups with platforms such as Swiggy and Dunzo, the company expects to see a significant increase in the consumption of these snacks’ brands. “Consumers prefer indulging in last-minute shopping and look at stocking-up on snacks and beverages for their families and friends. We expect this trend to continue till the New Year,” Gandhi added.

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