Source: Food Board (ID: tyjspb)

Original title: "Opening the metaverse 2.0 era, Pepsi is playing a big game! "

In 2021, a novel conceptual term quickly became popular: Metaverse. Today, the metaverse seems to have exploded into the sky. According to estimates by Bloomberg Intelligence, the market size of the "metaverse" may increase to $800 billion by 2024.

The young people's favor for Metaverse has prompted more and more companies to join the competition on this track, and the food and beverage industry is no exception. The food board noticed that by continuing to deepen the metaverse field, Pepsi has become one with more young consumers. Recently, after Pepsi-Cola sugar-free took the lead in detonating Pepsi Metaverse last year, Pepsi's first Metaverse immersive digital experience space has also been officially upgraded and launched, thus opening the Metaverse 2.0 era of strategic layout.

Pepsi Metaverse

So, what kind of marketing insights and strategic goals does the strategic layout of PepsiCo Metaverse 2.0 era reflect, and what reference significance does it bring to the food and beverage industry?

1. Connecting with Generation Z, the brand will be rejuvenated in the Metaverse

According to the metaverse report "New realities" released by marketing consulting agency Wunderman Thompson, 74% of respondents believe that the food and beverage industry will be affected.

And indeed it is. In recent years, more and more food and beverage giants have begun to write about the "Metaverse", or implant products into the digital world, and shape the products into a link between the physical world and the virtual world, providing consumers with an immersive experience. Food and beverage consumption experience; or by taking advantage of the "Metaverse" to catch up on the hot topics, to achieve reverse planting. But in general, most companies have dabbled in the metaverse, just to attract the attention of young users. In this regard, Pepsi has a different approach.

In PepsiCo's view, young people, who are the main force of consumption, are eager to express themselves, undefined, chasing trends and individuality, and they are the "aboriginal people" of the metaverse era. As the world continues to change, Generation Z has gradually become the main force of consumption. They have a strong desire to express themselves, which coincides with the resources and endowments provided by Metaverse. Therefore, on the basis of an accurate insight into the trends of the omnimedia + digital era, PepsiCo has chosen to continue to expand the metaverse, so that classic brands can be refreshed and upgraded in the metaverse; PepsiCo stimulates the vigorous growth of young creativity, and always resonates with Generation Z at the same frequency, forming a better emotional connection.

2. Comprehensive upgrade, tailor-made subversive gameplay

The food board noticed that Pepsi's first metaverse immersive digital experience space launched this time has tailored a subversive gameplay of virtual-real interaction in the metaverse ecology for young people.

Landing in the "future third space", Pepsi gathers love as an enabler; called by the first-generation virtual idol Pepsi No Sugar, every consumer is a new generation of Team Pepsi; 360° flipping the concept of space, gathering Pepsi's wonderful interactions; creating Exclusive "Pepsi Music Live", consumers can dance, hold a cup of Coke, and unlimited refills, and after dancing, they can trigger a full screen of Pepsi Sugar Free, click to draw random prizes...

Pepsi Metaverse

In Pepsi’s metaverse, many creative interactions can be exchanged for points, and exchanged for a chance to win a lucky draw, and win exciting gifts such as Tencent Video VIP monthly card. Keep trying, keep getting surprises, so as to realize the direct sticky link between consumers and brands.

Pepsi Metaverse

It is reported that PepsiCo may introduce more partners to join its metaverse in the future, and participate in interactive forms such as distributing coupons, which will undoubtedly add more attractiveness to PepsiCo's consumer communication and channel innovation.

2. Empowering TAs to co-create and play with young people

"Father of modern marketing" Philip Kotler once said that in the marketing 3.0 era, customers are not only consumers, but also complete individuals with independent thinking and spirit. Enterprises should view customers from a more comprehensive perspective. Think of them as multidimensional, emotional, and value-driven people, and even potential co-creators of your business.

Coincidentally, in the metaverse era, Generation Z also hopes to be their own superheroes, not marionettes of a certain brand. In view of this, PepsiCo has accurately grasped the "essence" of Metaverse marketing, using interaction and co-creation to give consumers more "autonomy" and "domination" and jointly participate in the creation of the "future". In fact, last year, Pepsi Metaverse made many attempts: for example, when it held the domestic debut Metaverse Live House and released the first Metaverse theme single, it invited netizens to create lyrics together; In the Niandian space, consumers can customize and match avatars... In May of this year, Pepsi Metaverse plans to launch the "Pepsi Co-Creation Pavilion", which not only has cross-border joint names, many NFT co-creation items, but also encourages The works created by consumers themselves are displayed in this scene, and young creativity is truly driven by love to create the future together.

Pepsi Metaverse

Food Board believes that young people, represented by Generation Z, are the current consumption leaders in the food and beverage industry. If you want to win their true favor, you must not only conquer their "stomach", but also grasp their "heart". By understanding the life attitudes of the younger generation, resonating with them, and making young consumers stick to the brand, it has long been a valuable practice for PepsiCo to build brand influence and competitiveness, and it has also made it the creator and leader of youth culture. You can "play" with young people anytime, anywhere.

3. Deeply cultivating youth culture, Pepsi is playing a big game

Throughout its long history, Pepsi has always given people the same impression: it is always advancing with the times, deeply cultivating youth culture, and maintaining the same frequency resonance with the love of young people.

As the consumer market continues to involve, from products to channels, there is a flood of homogeneity. In order to better capture the hearts of the new generation of consumers, major brands are trying to find a way that is more comfortable and appealing to young people to reach new consumer groups. The birth of the metaverse concept just established a new way of interaction between brands and consumers, and deepened the understanding and cognition of both parties through continuous co-creation in the virtual world, thereby building a closer private domain space.

Pepsi Metaverse

Video source: Weibo @百森中国

According to the observation of the food board, the upgrade of the first metaverse immersive digital experience space has also released more industry signals for PepsiCo. There are indications that PepsiCo is taking the metaverse as an overall system for business layout, trying to create a complete metaverse ecology, giving full play to the creativity of young people, reshaping the multiple self-expressions of contemporary young people, continuing the current vitality, building Infinite connection with the future. Such a strategic layout will not only enable PepsiCo to win in the present, but also in the future.

4. Summary

Commercialization is the driving force of social development, and the commercial dividend contained in the concept of metaverse is the core driving force for major brands to enter the game. However, the metaverse layout of food and beverage companies is not as simple as imagined. Different from the complexity and heaviness of reality, Metaverse is full of idealization and individuality. Young people are more willing to see the brand's true dedication and more patient original content in it, not just the "constant shouting" sales scene. Obviously, Pepsi has set a new benchmark for Metaverse marketing through its own strategic layout and more contemporary expression of personality, and has also provided inspiration for other food and beverage companies to develop Metaverse.

Image source: Weibo @百森中国

The source of the cover image of this article: Weibo @百藏中国