Pepsi ON takes off with teens
OMD New Zealand scoops Yahoo Digital Strategy Award
Auckland, New Zealand: September 16, 2014 – A cutting-edge campaign by OMD New Zealand for Frucor’s Pepsi has taken out a Yahoo New Zealand Digital Strategy Award.
Following changes to the media landscape including the closure of the only local broadcast teen channel, Pepsi and OMD
recognised that New Zealand teens no longer had a media destination of their own and successfully established Pepsi ON as a long term media channel for teens.
With the Kiwi teenager at the forefront of its strategy, OMD developed a customised site within Yahoo Entertainment as a
digital hub for teens. It brought together content from ambassadors, Yahoo globally and social media, and hosted three
Pepsi parties during the year – created by teens, for teens, and with teens.
OMD and Pepsi worked closely with Yahoo New Zealand to create a unique visual identity for the campaign hosted within
the Yahoo environment, mirroring the feel of social media, and harnessing a mix of user generated and curated content
from teen ambassadors.
Tumblr feeds were incorporated into the Pepsi ON site and users can pin ON content into their blog to further amplify
the brand through social.
The campaign exceeded all expectations by doubling Facebook engagement within a month of going live and achieving 22,930
unique user impressions against a target of 8,000, up by 287 per cent.
The judges praised OMD for a strategy that delivered real value to the day-to-day lives of teens, and Managing Directrix
of Mohawk Media and Judge Helen Baxter commended the way teen content including photos, social media, music and videos
was curated to create an integrated digital platform that has become a real go-to hub for New Zealand teens.
“OMD’s Pepsi ON campaign harnessed curated content from real teens to create authenticity and a sense of ownership. It
was successful in increasing social engagement levels and brand equity, as well as creating opportunities for ongoing
activity through a new teen channel on Yahoo,” said Ms Baxter.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) was awarded as runner-up for its “The Last 55” campaign. The campaign saw WWF
develop a Facebook app that captured individuals’ user data and converted it into a personalised video, reaching over 43
million people on Twitter and over seven million on Facebook. A total of 100,493 signatures were achieved from 216
different countries, well surpassing their target of 20,000 by 502 per cent.
General Manager Sales at Yahoo! New Zealand, Louis Niven, says the awards are an opportunity to recognise innovation in
digital strategy.
“Digital campaigns are now central to media strategy, and it’s fantastic to see New Zealand businesses continuing to
push the boundaries in the digital sphere. We congratulate OMD and look forward to seeing what innovative campaigns the
next six months will bring.”
The Yahoo! Digital Strategy Awards are run bi-annually and assess a campaigns ability to deliver against key objectives
and successfully address marketing and business challenges.
Entries for the next Yahoo! Digital Strategy Awards are now open. For more information, please visit http://nz.advertising.yahoo.com/awards/dsa/.
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About the Yahoo! Digital Strategy Awards
Launched in April 2010, the Yahoo! Digital Strategy Awards focus on the key role media strategy plays in the success of
digital campaigns, and aim to recognise and reward smart digital thinking.
The awards are judged bi-annually, with the two winners going head-to-head to for the title of Yahoo! Digital Strategy
Grand Prix winner. The Grand Prix winner receives $10,000 of media space on Yahoo! New Zealand, plus free entry into the 2015 Beacon Media Awards Best Use of Digital category.
Yahoo! New Zealand Digital Strategy Awards judges
• Alisa Higgins, General Manager, Interactive Advertising Bureau
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• Helen Baxter, Managing Directrix, Mohawk Media
Credits
Client: Frucor – Pepsi
Media Agency: OMD New Zealand
Creative Agency: ColensoBBDO