9 (11) Pepsi Cola
Sales: £362.9m +2.8%
There’s nothing like hanging from the roof of a double decker London bus to attract attention.
In June, Pepsi bottler Britvic convinced magician Dynamo to do just that as part of the Live For Now campaign, a bid to cement Pepsi Max’s appeal with young, hip drinkers and counter Coke Zero’s attempts to steal its thunder (see p14).
Luckily for Pepsi, Dynamo’s attempt to impress notoriously cynical Londoners went down better than David Blaine’s. “The reaction of the public as I was travelling was incredible,” he said.
It seems to have worked for Pepsi, too. Coke may have outgrown Pepsi slightly but the brand’s performance is still nothing to be sniffed at (volumes have climbed 2.2%), especially in light of the strong growth it achieved in 2012, Coke’s Olympic year.
Keeping up with the kids has been key. As well as the Dynamo tie-up, which Britvic says helped drive 21% value growth for the brand over the summer, in October Pepsi Max kicked off an on-pack promotion with The X Factor, offering drinkers the chance to win tickets to the show’s final, viewed by 9.7 million fans.
“With great nights in continuing to be a key trend among consumers, the activity was designed to put Pepsi at the centre of at-home occasions,” says Britvic marketing director Jonathan Gatward.
It’s easy to see why Britvic has been putting its weight behind Max - now worth about £178m according to Britvic - rather than standard and Diet Pepsi in the past year: the anti-sugar lobby have been growing more vocal and Diet Coke has had a strong year. Max is where it’s at.
But with Coke now turning its attention to Zero, Britvic will need to continue its support for Max if it is to avoid losing any of its enviable market share and cachet with the kids to its rival.
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