Known for its glitzy TV ads with star power (though they haven’t done much for Michael Jackson nor Britney Spear’s career) Pepsi-Cola is launching their new beverage line without traditional media.
Pepsi-Cola North America will market its new no-calorie, carbonated drinks named Tava without TV, newspaper and magazine advertising. New age drinks such as Brazilian Samba and Tahitian Tamure will rely on the web and free samples to create a ‘buzz’. Tava’s marketing is mostly contained to its website (www.Tava.com), banner ads, and free samples to movers and shakers at MTV and other ‘hot’ organizations crawling with mavens of cool.
Using only web content to launch a new product is of course nothing new – if the target audience is below the age of 24. However, as the New York Times reports (For a New Brand, Pepsi Starts the Buzz Online) Tava is being primarily marketed to women and me ages 35 to 49:
“There used to be an assumption this target was not online,” said Frank Cooper, vice president for flavored carbonated soft drinks at Pepsi-Cola North America in Purchase, N.Y. “But there’s a group in that category that’s ‘reborn digital.’ They’ve lived through the change and learned to adapt to it.”“This consumer spends significant time online, although what they do may differ from the younger consumer,” Mr. Cooper said. “They’re not I.M.-ing their friends; they’re looking at e-mail or looking up information about travel, music, food.”
The online aspects of the campaign extend beyond local markets. The Web sites on which the Tava banner ads are to appear include AOL, chow.com, CitySearch, dailycandy.com, discovery.com, Evite, MSN, oprah.com, People and weather.com.
The content of tava.com goes beyond pitches for the product, including downloadable songs from emerging musicians like Deccatree, a rock band from California, and Stephanie McKay, a singer from New York.
Relying primarily on the web of course is not without risks. In 2005, Pepsi launched Pepsi One without TV with limited success. To quote the New York Times regarding Pepsi One, “When was the last time you saw someone drinking one?”
Unfortunately for the marketing team responsible for marketing Tava, the initial web splash appears to be no more than a ripple:
• A search for “tava” finds the actual Tava site ranked 8th (below the fold)
• No website or presence to be found at Facebook
• No website or presence to be found at MySpace
• A search at Pepsi.com offers no results dedicated to its new beverage
While a search on Technorati shows some ‘buzz’ about Tava, almost all of it is exclusively focused on the NY Times article and focusing namely on the Pepsi decision to eschew TV advertising. Perhaps the mavens at MTV will create all that desired buzz amongst the 35-49 years-old set
The Tava.com website is decidedly thin, but features some catchy music. Despite the weak start to its web campaign I must admit that I’m already thirsty… I could use a Tahitian Tamure right now.
