In Singapore, Pepsi-Cola International was one of the sponsors of
the movie, Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.
The Challenge facing MindShare
Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Pepsi's Star Wars Episode 1
consumer promotion (to win Star Wars collectibles from Pepsi) was
delayed, and would only kick-off a month later after the launch of the
movie in Singapore on June 3, 1999.
MindShare had to help build quick association and awareness of Pepsi
with the movie during this interim period, prior to Pepsi's consumer
promotion.
The key marketing objective
To capitalise and maximise on Pepsi's worldwide association with Lucas
Films/Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.
Communications materials
At that point in time, only print materials were approved by Lucas
Films, produced by Pepsi-Cola International, and adapted locally.
The Media Strategy
The following key elements were taken into consideration:
1) Target audience
Pepsi is targeted at people aged 15-39 years; however, the core of the
business is very much focused on teenagers.
2) Scheduling
Even though Pepsi's consumer promotion was going to be a month late, it
was very important to ride on the hype of Star Wars Episode 1, and to
create awareness of Pepsi's brand during the launch of the movie.
3) Creative consideration
Only full-colour print materials were available.
Relevant editorial environment that reflected the interest and lifestyle
of Pepsi's target audience would be sought.
Evaluation and analysis concluded that weekly magazine 8-Days surpassed
the rest of the publications in meeting the communication objective.
The creative media solution
The idea was to do something loud, innovative, original and impactful in
execution, so as to build Pepsi's association with Star Wars Episode
1.
8-Days' editorial includes news update on TV, music, movie and the
entertainment industry, which was the right fit for this brand.
8-Days created a collector's issue, highlighting four characters from
the movie, each on a different cover: Darth Maul, Queen Amidala, Obi-Wan
Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker.
And on the same cover fold, a half-page, full-colour flap for Pepsi was
devised.
The editor got Lucas Films' final approval and printed 85,000 copies of
this special issue, an additional 10,000 copies above the regular print
run.
This 14 per cent increase was in anticipation of the popularity of the
special issue.
No additional cost was incurred by Pepsi-Cola or MindShare for this
execution.
8-Days also bought spots on Channel 5 to promote the special
edition.
The result
Word-of-mouth on the special edition was extremely positive.
The challenge faced by MindShare was successfully carried out in the
above scenario. In terms of creative media idea and usage by MindShare
to help build Pepsi's association and hype in a-never-before creative
execution in Singapore.
* This ongoing National Geographic Showcase series features selected
material from winners and other entries in the Best Use of Media
category in MEDIA's Agency of the Year Awards 1999.