At the risk of getting slammed by the Pepsi brand team, I just have to point out that being a big brand and having a big budget doesn’t always equal smart. The Pepsi Facebook strategy is … lame. There’s no other way to describe it. Here are a few representative posts:
| Tuesday, January 15 | Saturday, January 12 |
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| Tuesday, January 10 | Saturday, January 8 |
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Anyone get the pattern? I sure do and it’s blatant and annoying as heck. Sure product placement works and every marketer knows the opportunities and costs of such placements, so why not do it on the channel you already own? Because it’s uninspired.
I’m sure it’s working for Pepsi or they wouldn’t keep doing it. But in the long run, it hurts the brand and their reputation. Using Facebook as a product placement channel is not creative, fresh or interesting.
Next week, I’ll highlight a small brand (a nonprofit one even) that has a much more interesting Facebook strategy that is increasing fan engagement.