Social Media Marketing: Who gets it and who doesn’t?

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Watch Pepsi. A perennial signature Super Bowl advertiser, they withdrew this year—sacrificing the largest TV audience of any program in history when the New Orleans Saints won their first championship—Yes. They. Did.–to fund social marketing. It’s a fabulous experiment. Pepsi’s history of innovative and successful marketing and advertising is certain to provide a model from which others can learn.

Pepsi’s Refresh Project, perhaps best identified by the “One Tribe” jingle, targets millennials and entrepreneurs. Love this. These are heavy users of social media and consumers of caffeinated beverages and an audience with which Pepsi has already established its image and presence. Refresh is more interesting and sophisticated than, say, Honda’s lame attempt at integration, which is to tag all their TV spots with their Facebook page URL and provide no good reason to visit it.

Notice how Pepsi “owns” this medium. It’s not their Twitter feed; the campaign is anchored and housed on a property that they own. They have provided strong incentives and a fun, positive environment to engage. They’re not dependent on Facebook’s ever-changing policies.

What if people decide they like this? Well, for one thing, an expected trend in social media is that private networks will siphon popularity over the Facebooks of the world; this may be the experiment that kicks that development into high gear. For another, I’ve been telling anyone who would listen that, unlike traditional advertising, social media isn’t a market share or customer acquisition tool; it’s for wallet share and customer retention…

…It’s possible Pepsi will demonstrate the exception to the rule, or maybe even change this game.

Have you participated in Refresh? Do you know anyone who has? In what way? Do you have an “idea?” Have you commented, voted? Tell! Tell!