Brand Positioning

Pepsis brand identity has transformed over the years, but primarily it has
remained as a youthful brand which empowers people to enjoy their youth.
The external and internal indicators of Brand Identity have been modified
many times. Its logo, trademark, etc have undergone many changes over time
but the distinct identity of Pepsi has been maintained. We also see a
consistency in brand positioning for Pepsi as a Youth oriented brand. Its
tagline in India YEH HAI YOUNGISTAN MERI JAAN exemplifies that
essence. Pepsis brand identity using Kapferers Identity prism is as follows

Pepsis primary sources of brand equity are derived from its unique name with
an American connotation to it. Its logo, a sphere with 3 different colors
aids brand recall. The brand endorsers over the years, starting from Shahrukh
khan, Sachin Tendulkar to Ranbir Kapoor, M.S Dhoni have been a major
source of equity for the brand. The brand has always looked for young faces in
order to relate with its youth target audience . Pepsi also drives it equity from
its rival coke (which is the market leader with nearly 70% market share) as its
only global competitor primarily through creative advertising and
communication strategy.

Another source of Pepsis Brand Equity is the huge consumer base of more
than 200 million across the world. Pepsicos Indian Subsidiary is trying to
follow on its footsteps and is planning to tap the next 1 billion consumers at
the bottom of the pyramid with its exclusive offerings like Iron chusti and
Gluco+ . Its innovative Campaigns are also a predominant source of Pepsis
Brand Equity in India.

Several campaigns like Youngistaan ka Wow targeted at Youth and

celebrating their audacious self belief, thus bringing the brand closer to its
Customers, The Game, a series of five gaming-based television films
developed specially for the ongoing IPL season, Change the Game and First
Ball ka Kaptan considering the cricket world cup and T-20 world cup have
been successful in leveraging the love for the game and reinforce the
association of the game with Pepsi. The CSR activities of the company also
generate a lot of Brand equity, Its the only soft drink manufacturer with a
positive water balance in India. Pepsis wide Product Portfolio helps in
increasing the depth and Breadth of Brand Awareness.
CBBE MODEL

Brand Mantra
Since the competition between the two brands has become increasingly stronger, we
decided to use one of the brand positioning techniques to progress in our research about
this field and to gather more material in order to make a better analysis of the situation.

Brand Mantra is a step of this study, it will allow us to collect some information about
how are seen Pepsi and Coca Cola by the consumers.
So we asked people to tell us through 3 to 5 independant words, what the two brands
inspires to them.

The most repeted and relevant words for Coca Cola are :

-Sharing

-Hapiness

-Tasty

For pepsi it was :

-young

-Celebrities

-Fresh

-Sport

The point of parity is that they are two very famous fresh soft drinks.

The point of difference is the image that they reflect : pepsi is more trendy and cool with
an image of young people and celebrities while coca cola is an emotional brand. This is
due to the advertising campaigns they both spread.
Mental map

Brand Elements
According to Keller, brand elements are those trademarkable devices that serve to
identify and differentiate the brand (2013, p. 114). Brand elements including the
Pepsi logo and symbol, packaging, and spokespeople work together concurrently to
allow consumers to be able to distinguish the Pepsi brand from the competition.
Logo Consumer feedback indicates that many do not particularly care for the Pepsi
logo. Many individuals have more of an emotional attachment to the iconic and
original logo. The following consumer feedback sums up the majority opinion
regarding the Pepsi logo: Emotional brand ties aside, I simply dont see the logic
behind this project. Keeping your image young and fresh is one thing, wasting
millions of dollars to twist and smudge your iconic logo is another. I wasnt
completely against Pepsi reverting to a simpler design, but they had a really strong
and recognizable logo to revert to and Im not sure rethinking it so dramatically was
either necessary or effective in any way (Johnson, 2011). The current Pepsi logo
reminds some consumers of some of its more recent logos notating the
insignificance in the slight variations from year to year. However, consumers
describe Coca-Cola as a brand that keeps it real with the throwback logo and
simplistic brand message ("Pepsi portrayal," 2009). The Coca-Cola logo is
described as more warm and friendly. Coca-Colas famous, hand-drawn script is full
of human warmth. Circular letters are vigorous and rhythmic, and those swashy Cs
have exuberant, carefree flair. Thick-to-thin strokes are visually engaging and fast,
because the eye follows converging lines (McWade, 2009). Symbol Pepsis current
symbol confuses many consumers with its meaning and purpose. Consumers
describe the symbol as static, empty, bland, and lacking energy. Some have even
described the circular PEPSI BRAND EXPLORATORY 13 symbol like a planet or even
worse, a completely different brand. The colors, shape, and pattern of the Pepsi
wave are compared to a Korean airline.

Marketing mix
Product in the marketing mix of Pepsi
There are 2 main product types in which Pepsi is present in India.
Beverages
Soft drinks 7up, Dukes, Mirinda, Mountain dew, Nimbooz, Pepsi, Slice,
Tropicana,
Mineral / Bottled water Aquafina
Sports Drink Gatorade
Food Products
Snacks Cheetos, Kurkure, Lays, Lehar, Uncle chipps
Breakfast Quaker oats

Price in the marketing mix of Pepsi

Pepsi is in an industry which is dominated by the two biggies Coca cola and
Pepsi. Thus the pricing of Pepsi is competitive. In a war between Coca cola and
pepsi, neither of the brands can win if they enter a price war. This is because
the cost of manufacturing and transportation is huge. Thus, these companies
are likely to enter a brand war rather than enter a price war.

Pepsi is known to give promotional discounts as well as discounts on bulk

buying. For customers, as the container size rises, the discounts also rise. Thus
a 2 litre bottle of Pepsi will be relatively cheaper per 100ml as compared to a
250 ml pack. For distributors, the discount is based on the quantity as well as
the payment terms. The better the payment terms or the higher the quantity,
the more is the discount given thereby keeping the distributor motivated.

Place in the marketing mix of Pepsi

Pepsi has a huge distribution network in India. It has to be huge because the
brand needs to be present in every nook and corner of the country to increase
its sales. The primary mode of distribution is through distributors who in turn
give it to retailers, restaurants, and convenience stores. The secondary mode
of distribution is directly through the company to bulk buyers and major
retailers who buy directly from the company.

Thus distribution channel is as follows

1) Company > Distributor > Small retailers / Small buyers > End customer
2) Company > Bulk buyers > End customer

Promotions in the marketing mix of Pepsi.

One of the strongest reason Pepsi retains its brand image is its promotions.
Pepsi targets mainly youngsters through various Brand ambassadors. In India,
the brand ambassadors have been the best celebrities as well as sports person
of the country including Sachin tendulkar, M S Dhoni, Amitabh Bacchan,
Ranbir kapoor and others.

Mountain dew has a message of Darr ke age jeet hai which is again focused
on adventure sports thereby targeting youngsters. Snacks like Kurkure and
Lays target different segments. Kurkure is known to target household snacks
and middle aged group whereas Lays targets youngsters and the party mood.
Gatorade targets only sports as it is a sports drink. And Quaker oats, which is a
recent launch as compared to the other products, targets breakfast with a bit
of masala.

Pepsi uses all the media channels for its promotions. Along with ATL, pepsi is
also present in BTL marketing. Furthermore, along with traditional media
channels, Pepsi also uses trade promotions and sales promotions at point of
purchase. Discounts and packaging are always being bundled to give the best
combination and value to the customer to increase purchases as well as the
brand equity.

The bottomline is that Pepsi cannot exist without the proper promotions. This
is because Pepsi belongs in the FMCG market, and in FMCG, you either
perform or perish. The FMCG market is one of the toughest market for
businesses. However, Pepsi is not only surviving, but it is thriving in the
FMCG market. Thus, hoping that Pepsi keeps re inventing its marketing mix
so that it remains in the top 2 category of soft drinks.