DePaul Digital PR Class

Summary of Pepsi Refresh Campaign

Long, long ago, right before Superbowl 2010, PepsiCo made a major marketing decision: instead of spending their $20 million budget on their previously popular television advertisements during the game, they were to spend the money on a major social media campaign.

And so was born the Pepsi Refresh Project.

In an attempt to bring the brand front and center in the minds of consumers (rather than have them distractedly watch a few commercials), PepsiCo created a campaign that literally asks consumers for their opinions on how millions of dollars should be spent.  Not only do they ask for opinions, but they actually listen to what people have to say.  Talk about integration. 

Consumers are invited to brainstorm ideas on how to make the world a better place.  If they think they have a good one, consumers are encouraged to market and sell their ideas to as many people as possible.  The better they sell their idea, the more votes they receive, and so rises the possibility of receiving a grant (ranging from $5,000 to $50,000). 

You may ask, “How many votes does one need in order to win?”  The answer? Millions. Contest entries are broadcast to the world through social media websites, primarily facebook, twitter, and youtube.  Through reposts, retweets and word of mouth, votes are accumulated, and at the end of the month if you have enough votes, you could become a finalist and potentially win thousands of dollars to put your idea into action.  

Critique of Pepsi Refresh Campaign

Okay, so yes, this brings a warm, fuzzy feeling to consumers and yes this will bring people’s attention on the company.  But what is it really doing to make PepsiCo more successful financially?  This has been one of the major critiques of the Pepsi Refresh Project. 

Since the project has been in effect for almost two years, PepsiCo and its marketing team have had time to refine and revise.  One thing they changed, to increase profitability, is actually involving the product in the project.  Now, certain Pepsi bottles come with “power votes”, meaning your vote with a code (from the bottle) is worth more.

I believe in the idea.  It shows the company in an extremely positive light; the company obviously cares about making the world a better place.  It gives power to the people (which is one of social media’s major results), not only through allowing strangers to organize but also individually, by giving one person the power to put their idea into effect. 

Besides, one year of not having commercials during the Superbowl is a small price to pay for the hundreds of communities that are being made better monthly with the help of PepsiCo.  

Summary of Qdoba’s Queso Quest

When you think of foods that Chicago is famous for, you probably think of things like Deep Dish Pizza, Hot Dogs, and Italian Beef Sandwiches. I’m sure Queso dip doesn’t necessarily come to mind, but Mexican restaurant chain, Qdoba, wants to change that. Qdoba is your typical Mexican restaurant with everything from burritos to quesadillas to tacos. But they are especially famous for their savory 3-cheese Queso dip. Qdoba was curious to know what foods Chicago residents would pair with Queso if they had the chance. So Qdoba hired Joey Dundale, an up-and coming comedian and a Queso connoisseur, to drive a food truck filled with nothing but Qdoba’s 3-cheese Queso dip and attempt to put Queso on anything and everything he could find. Dundale and his truck traveled to different neighborhoods to see if he could get Chicago residents to smother their food in Queso. Dundale documented his journey by posting videos to his Youtube channel, QuesoJoey. Dundale paired Queso with everything from Dim Sum to pickles to marshmallows to even Caviar.

Everyone loves free stuff, especially free food. So Qdoba allowed Chicagoans to retrieve coupons for Qdoba’s Queso by doing one of three simple tasks. Fans would receive an instant coupon by sharing one of Dundale’s Youtube videos on Facebook. Fans could also tweet @QuesoJoey on http://twitter.com/quesojoey with the #queso hashtag telling him what food they think he should pair with Queso. The final way fans would receive a coupon was by visiting www.quesoquest.com to see what places Dundale visited and left coupons behind.

Critique of Qdoba’s Queso Quest

I think that this is a very smart campaign. Qdoba is in constant competition with Chipotle and this is a great way to set them apart. To me, the one thing that really makes Qdoba different from Chipotle is that they do have this 3-cheese Queso dip so I think it is great that that was the focus of their campaign. The Queso Quest was clearly aimed for a younger audience, which gives the sense that Qdoba is a young and hip company that is listening to their clients wants and needs. Food trucks are all the rage right now so I think it is smart of Qdoba to capitalize on this fad. I also think that Qdoba really understood the importance of incorporating all aspects of social media. They had a Twitter handle, a Facebook account, and a Youtube channel. Their Youtube channel was consistently updated with funny and quirky videos so fans could follow Dundale’s journey.
Qdoba’s goal was to ultimately increase awareness and sales of their brand. They knew by having Chicago residents interacting with Dundale and his Queso truck that it would get people talking about Qdoba. In my opinion, there really is not too much more Qdoba could have done to make this campaign even more successful. The only thing I would suggest would be to possibly set up something with FourSquare and when people check into Qdoba they get a coupon for a free Queso dip. There are definitely more people on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube though so adding FourSquare into the mix might not have even really made a difference. I think the reason why this campaign was so successful is because it was fun and interesting. It made people talk about Queso, but more importantly it made people talk about Qdoba.

Summary of Walgreens Campaign

           With summer rapidly coming to an end, the rush of flu season emerges upon us. It is now time for people of all ages to receive the flu shot-- especially senior citizens and children. Each year, Walgreens is famous for supplying this potentially lifesaving vaccine. But this season, Walgreens is turning digital by starting a new campaign for the uninsured, underinsured, and those who cannot afford to get the flu shot. Until October 8^th, Walgreens will grant up to six million flu shots from smart phone consumers who check in with their Facebook or FourSquare accounts during their visit. Patrons can choose their favorite charity to receive vouchers that will then distribute to individuals. Participating charities include: American Diabetes Association, AmeriCares, Feeding America, League of United Latin American citizens, and the National Urban League. A base donation of twenty thousand vouchers for free flu shots have already been distributed to those current five charities. Among all drug stores, Walgreens has the largest following on Facebook. It is no stranger to the social media world by providing information to shoppers who choose to check in to Walgreens.

 Critique of Walgreens Campaign

             Social media has quickly become a productive platform for campaigns to directly convey information to the public. With Walgreens large social media following, it is useful and innovative for them to take advantage of this new source of delivering information. However, the logistics of this program may have some problems. In order to participate in this program, an individual needs to own a smart phone. Secondly, for a flu shot to be donated, an individual needs to physically be in Walgreens and check in to their Facebook or Foursquare account. People that would benefit from this program the most, senior citizens, underinsured, and those with no insurance are less likely to participate in this program because they are not a group that would normally own a smart phone. If the senior citizens are anything like my grandmother, they would not understand Facebook or Foursquare. Plenty of people, who own smart phones, would gladly check into Walgreens if they were aware of this campaign. But, in my personal experience and a frequent shopper at Walgreens, I have not seen advertisements in the media, online, or at the store for this promotion. For individuals who are in desperate need of the flu shot, how will they be informed if they qualify and where to receive the vaccine? This makes me wonder if Walgreens will get anywhere near the six million flu shot goal. While I applaud Walgreens’ effort to give back to the community, I am concerned the campaign may not be successful, due to poor execution. The cut off date for this program ends on October 8^th, right in the middle of flu season. It would seem the program, lasting a little over a month, would end just as people are starting to think about getting the flu shot.  

Walgreens needs to make a few adjustments in order for this campaign to be successful. They need to gear their advertisement to smart phone users. For example, a great place to advertise this promotion would be at a college campus. Most college students have smart phones and are familiar with the Facebook and Foursquare features. This will also remind students how important it is for them to receive the flu shot. The charities receiving the flu vaccines vouchers should also advertise locations to inform people in need of the flu shot. The success of this campaign could have many rewards. Not only will it vaccinate a large portion of the community, but also broaden Walgreens customer base. Social media is a powerful communication tool and when used properly, can reach a mass audience and provide a successful PR campaign.

Summary of Marie Callender’s Campaign

            On the surface, PR agency Ketchum and client Marie Callender’s seemed to have a creative idea up their sleeve to generate positive discussion across the blogosphere for the frozen food purveyor. According to a recent article in The New York Times, this past August, Ketchum sent out invitations to New York food and restaurant bloggers inviting them to an exclusive meal at an underground restaurant seemingly run by celebrity chef George Duran. The invitation to the secret dinners – offered nightly over a one week period – teased that guests would receive “an unexpected surprise.”

            The “unexpected surprise” was that the bloggers were unknowingly served a meal prepared not by Chef Duran, but rather Marie Callender’s Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna. Diners’ reactions before and after the unveiling of the real source of their meal were captured on hidden video cameras with the intention of using the footage for promotional videos on YouTube and the brand’s website. Needless to say, bloggers were not amused by the stunt, and feeling duped, aggressively took to the Web to lambast the experience. In the words of one blogger who attended and then took to the Web to vent: “our entire meal was a SHAM!”

            To the credit of Ketchum and ConAgra Foods, the parent company of Marie Callender’s, the fifth and final night of the planned experiment was canceled due to the negative feedback. Attendee expenses, such as babysitting fees and cab fares, were reimbursed. ConAgra also vowed to not use any of the footage from the evenings. Could Ketchum and ConAgra have responded more quickly? Possibly, although greater than 60% of attendees had a fun evening (according to a survey of participants); this suggests that many bloggers weren’t up in arms.

Critique of Marie Callender’s Campaign

            Blogger relations has quickly become a standard component of many public relations campaigns. Blogger outreach in and of itself is not a bad thing as many bloggers are actively looking for story ideas and like the attention of brands. This failed tactic is a great example of how ideas are easy (so to speak; it’s all relative!), but planning and execution of ideas is hard.

In this case, I would argue that this idea went off the tracks with the selection of the blogger invitee list. The New York Times article published in the aftermath of this campaign makes reference to blogger invitees who had specific dietary restrictions or preferences (food allergies, health conscious, organic/natural, etc.). Why would this type of food blogger be interested in a frozen food line, no matter how great the taste? Hard core foodies generally don’t just care about taste these days, but product sourcing and the bigger picture (think Food, Inc.).  

I don’t know what Marie Callender’s research shows and the profile of their target public, but I don’t see why it had to be food or restaurant bloggers per se that they pitched. Why not invite bloggers with devoted followings that fit their demographic – pressed for time and on-the-go, seeks affordability and value, etc. They might have been more open to this stunt. In general though, no blogger likes looking bad in front of their readers and this tactic could have backfired even with a different mix of blogger invitees. At the end of the day, publics – whether they are bloggers or ordinary consumers – increasingly demand authenticity and transparency.