You could be forgiven for assuming that running a global drinks behemoth in China, in one of the most competitive categories around, would breed something of a predictable, hard-nosed, corporate mentality. But Harry Hui, it appears, is more than happy to debunk those assumptions.
Heading up PepsiCo International’s China beverage unit as chief marketing officer, Hui oversees a lucrative portfolio which includes Pepsi, Gatorade, Tropicana, Dole, 7Up and Mirinda, along with a host of locally-developed brands.
If you believe the online hype, Hui has actually created something of a fan base in China, with bloggers commenting on his each and every move. He’s written a book on China’s youth - the second is currently underway, he tells Media - and he’s tried his hand at television script writing.
“I find inspiration in creativity. It’s about being observant in life and seeing the things that happen around you, and recording those things. My book was a recollection of the past five years of doing a TV show in China, in which we had, over the years, contact with 250,000 people across China. I was talking to these kids, asking them what they liked. (I learned) that kids in China are very smart - they can smell a campaign that is too commercial or that doesn’t have the kind of street credit that they’re looking for.”
It’s this kind of aversion to ‘type’ that Hui embraces as a core approach to marketing for Pepsi in China. Hailing from a background in music, he finds himself continuing the work of his predecessors in building the brand into one which stands on three legs: sports, music and interactivity, pointedly shunning reference to the corporate world.
“I think you can see from my bio that I’ve been primarily in the music and media business. In particular at MTV, a lot of our efforts were aimed at working with clients. I’ve always felt that the entertainment and media side of the business were looking to work closely with brands, and brands were always looking to be more entertainment-focused,” he explains.
Perhaps happiest when he’s taking a leading role - as evidenced by his regular presence on the speaker circuit - Hui believes in taking the ‘front foot’ approach to brand building. Fresh from the second round of the hugely successful Pepsi Challenge - the 2007 installment saw more than 25 million unique voters collectively voting almost 170 million times throughout the competition - Hui oversaw the charge which rolled out the eye-catching and, yes, controversial, red Pepsi can campaign.
This was a sports-themed national campaign which attracted plenty of comment over its similarity to Coke’s approach and brand design. Was it ambush marketing?
While graciously sidestepping a direct answer, he chuckles: “What issue has there been? We are pleased with the response and it is a limited edition exercise. It’s a wonderful way of taking home an experience. The response has been positive.
The translation simply says, ‘With the passion of 1.3 billion people, we dared to go red for China’,” he notes, referring to Pepsi’s revitalised brand platform which focuses on ‘dare’, while simultaneously using red as a signpost to China’s national colour.
“I’m used to competition,” adds Hui, pointing to his time at MTV during its battles with Star TV’s Channel V. “It was intense between the two of us, because (we) were both going for the same piece of the pie.”
Despite his musical leanings, Hui is careful not to appear too instinctive.
“Marketing is a really important balance between art and science. In the music business, there was probably not as much science. It was like, ‘Hey, that band’s cool, let’s sign them’. Here, it’s ‘That beverage is really cool. Let’s research it a few times’.”
The quip underlines the importance of research in Hui’s marketing decisions, as he attempts to get consumers to switch their loyalty and stick with Pepsi’s portfolio.
“We’re going to be introducing more health and wellness products and at the same time speeding up our development to offer more choice,” he notes. “My belief is that marketing in China is still relatively new.
Consumers are experimental, and new players are coming into all the categories. There’s a real battle in a market that is developing and it’s only going to get more intense.”
Harry Hui’s CV
2007 Chief marketing officer, PepsiCo International, China Beverages
2002 President, Southeast Asia, Universal Music
1998 Executive vice-president and managing director, MTV Networks Asia, MTV North Asia
1995 Regional MD, Warner Chappel Music Publishing Asia-Pacific
