PepsiCo tunes 7up to a new pitch

The cola major is investing more in the brand and redefining its cool factor for the core demographic

In a bid to expand and play up its portfolio of non-caffeinated beverages, Pepsico India is casting its lime drink in a new mould. It has brought AR Rahman on board for a music talent hunt show with him as judge in Tamil Nadu, has opted for transparent labelling and says that it is investing ahead of the category in advertising and marketing the brand. For 7up that has been endowed with many variants in recent years, the company said it is test marketing another, low-sugar extension of the brand.

7up is now a master brand in its portfolio the company said and that automatically elevates its status in terms of the attention paid by the marketing and branding teams. While category spends are estimated at 25-30 per cent of company advertising budgets, PepsiCo said it will invest more apart from redefining its cool factor to make it more relevant to the young. 

Vipul Prakash, senior vice president (Beverage Category), PepsiCo India said, “Every brand has to remain true to its core, but make changes at the consumer course.” He believes 7up had hit the right notes with the Fido Dido, an animated mascot it used sometime in the early 2000s but it is now time to move on. “Fido Dido represented the Indian cool at that time. The definition of cool evolves with every generation and in the past few years, the ability to showcase a talent at public platforms, is very cool.”

It is also time perhaps to steer the conversation away from its flagship cola brand, given the growing anxiety over caffeinated beverages among the young and the backlash the category has received from former celebrity endorsers such as Virat Kohli and Amitabh Bachchan. The clear lemon market in the overall carbonated soft drink (CSD) market is about 25-30 per cent of that market in terms of volume. The two major brands in this segment are 7up and Sprite, while the pecking order changes from region to region, at an all India level, 7up lags behind Sprite. 

7up was launched in India 27 years ago and has always been defined as a youth drink that is an instant pick-me-up. Cool, fun and energizing is how Prakash would describe the brand. Now PepsiCo wants to add 100 million customers in next three to five years and cross the one billion dollar revenue mark for the brand. For this there is a need to double the efforts at marketing and strike the right note with the young who are moving away from colas and sugary drinks. 

Cut down the sugar

Transparent labeling and developing a low sugar variant are meant to address the health conscious youth. The company has tested a low sugar extension in Gujarat and is planning to replace 7up with the low sugar variant across the country. This is in keeping with a similar effort being made across the portfolio. It has launched a low sugar Mirinda in Tamil Nadu and after testing it for a year, will take it to other markets. 

Ten years ago 7up was a soda; it added Nimbooz, a non-hydrated lemon flavoured drink and then 7Up Revive, aimed at health consious customers. “We will reduce the sugar in our carbonated soft drinks. We launched with 30 per cent less sugar in Gujarat as a test pilot a year ago. We will extend it to many more parts of the country in the first quarter of 2018,” Prakash said adding that similar plans are afoot for Mirinda, Mountain Dew and Pepsi. 

The company is also keen to show 7up as an honest brand, perhaps in a bid to take the sting off the attack from rival Sprite that has positioned itself as the no-nonsense, truth teller. It is also important to define the brand very sharply around truth and value because, Prakash believes that the brand must be able to talk the same language as the customer and be where the customer is. 

“We believe in entering conversations already happening. When we are having the Rahman programme, we are not asking the consumer to come to the store, we are reaching where the consumers are. That is the significant part of our brand communication. We become part of the conversation that is going on rather than trying to trigger new communication. That will be the way for the next few years,” said Prakash.

Redefining cool

“I want another 100 million consumer start loving 7up. At the rate the brand is growing, it is a matter of three to five years,” Prakash said. He believes that the brand has to rethink its cool factor and align closely with what drives the young today. And hence the association with talent shows.

The latest tie-up is with AR Rahman who is celebrating his twenty-fifth year in the music industry. Rahman and his team will choose seven top voices from Tamil Nadu, kick-starting the brand’s effort in nurturing musical talent. “It is about 7up giving its consumer a platform to showcase their talent. That is what is cool today,” Prakash added.

But are celebrity ambassadors still working for the brand? Rahman’s association with the brand according to Prakash is more about the brand connecting customers with a source of authority and not just a celebrity. That is why the company has P V Sindhu speaking about Gatorade and Rahman selecting best voices from Tamil Nadu, he added. “We may still use celebrities, but how we will use them is the key,” he said.