We know consumers associate themselves with brands they have an affinity with, or aspire to be like. In recognition of this, it seems Pepsi has made a bold move to realign its values and give consumers a new reason to associate with the brand, while at the same time removing its advertising spend from the infamous Super Bowl.

Its latest Refresh Project campaign is an investment of US$20 million to create a tangible way of demonstrating the company’s more philanthropic ethos. The idea itself - creating a site that entertains a maximum of 1000 ideas from the public on how it might improve the local community, in a highly interactive way – plays a key role in the shift Pepsi wants to make.

Even though the advertising at the Super Bowl enabled the brand to reach outrageous audience numbers, it arguably lacked that tangible ‘feel good’ factor. The refresh project may not instantly reach massive audience figures, but the level of involvement and engagement with the community will be deeper, and no doubt have more longevity.

Plus, the media Pepsi uses to deliver the campaign embraces the role consumers now want, and need, to play. The brand has entered the new communication landscape where it’s the consumers who have a voice; setting the agenda and then leading the direction they want to go in. Like many other brands choosing this path, Pepsi is currently the facilitator, letting the consumer take the driving seat.

Good on Pepsi. The campaign effuses creativity and emotion, and let’s not underestimate the publicity Pepsi is getting from this move.

Thanks to: Pepsi
Posted by: Daniel Saltalamacchia, University of Notre Dame Australia & trend watcher to WYWW for the month of Feb, 2010

For General Electric, being positioned as a key mover in the green solution is crucial in building consumer trust and co-operation. Any product or service under similar pressures could learn from its intelligent campaign.

The educational campaign focuses on its Smart Grid vision for smarter and more efficient use of energy. And while it’s a complex story to tell, they’ve done a convincing job by using the right media to portray the appropriate levels of information.

We want to talk about the online component, because its use of new technology alone is impressive in demonstrating that GE knows how to apply new technology to an old problem. One way it demonstrates this is through augmented reality, a technology that brings real world elements into a digital hologram. Consumers can see a digital hologram of the technology come to life in their hands.

Have a look for yourself…

This is the first time we’ve seen augmented reality technology used to interact with a consumer in an advertising campaign. Even more novel is to see a traditional services company breaking new ground in the advertising space, but GE has proven here that traditional can also be forward-thinking.

For an overview of the campaign in its entirety: http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/preview/

Thanks to: General Electric

It works like this. Each time you use your credit card, a percentage is contributed towards specific projects that offset greenhouse emissions. The site displays a healthy level of interactivity with a calculator on the front page where you can test your current spending against what you might save. So for argument’s sake if you were to spend $2000 in one month you could offset 1 household for a month, 1 domestic flight and 12 light globes.

It’s not until we trawl through the fine print that we discover cardholders need to spend a hefty $50,000 per annum until the carbons are offset on Earth Day (April 22nd) each year – so it is talking to those who put more than $4000 on their credit card a month.

Still, fine print aside this brand has succeeded in breaking down the enormity of a problem into achievable increments for the masses.

Thanks to: GE Money