News
Pepsi marketing chief pushes ad competition9/9/2009http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09252/996450-28.stm
PepsiCo says W. Pa. long one of its top 20 markets By Teresa F. Lindeman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Pittsburghers love pierogies, Primanti's ... and Pepsi? Turns out that southwestern Pennsylvania has been one of the soft drink company's top 20 markets for the past few years, and that fact, combined with the hoopla surrounding the start of the National Football League's new season, will give area advertising professionals a shot at national exposure. Frank Cooper, chief marketing officer for PepsiCo North American Beverages, is scheduled to speak today at a gathering hosted by the Pittsburgh Advertising Federation at the Omni William Penn hotel, Downtown. While there, he'll share a creative brief that any member of the ad group can use to enter an RFPittsburgh competition to have a one-page PepsiCo magazine ad published prominently next year. Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo, which reported 2008 revenue of more than $43 billion, is one of the nation's most prominent marketers, spending lots of money promoting its namesake drink as well as Mountain Dew, Gatorade, Quaker Oats, Tropicana, Frito-Lay products and maybe even coconut water soon. The Ad Fed team members are pretty proud of themselves for bringing in a "rock star" speaker, and they want something similar -- competition included -- annually. "It allows our members to really show their stuff to a national marketing manager," said Meade Johnson, president of the 350-member trade group. "It showcases the region." It also, she acknowledged, might persuade a few more people to fork over the $99 membership fee for a chance to get in front of Mr. Cooper. The deadline for submissions comes a month after his presentation, and, yes, the group will accept last-minute membership sign-ups. As for Pittsburgh's relationship with Pepsi, a company official said she couldn't share volume numbers to show just how much Mountain Dew and Diet Pepsi people here imbibe. She did say Pepsi's popularity has meant it has used this area as a test market in the past. Why is this such a good market for the company? Nicole Bradley, senior manager, public relations, PepsiCo North American Beverages, credited great sales teams and retail partners. Locals may recall the Pepsi bottling plant that operated for decades in Stowe. In a 1999 Post-Gazette story about an announcement that the bottling operation would be moving out, one community leader was quoted as saying, "To hear Pepsi tell it, they outdo Coca-Cola competition by five to one in the Pittsburgh region." Mr. Cooper's presence may be related company's NFL sponsorship and events surrounding the season opener tomorrow of the Super Bowl winning Steelers
Back to List
