Pepsi wins the hearts, and wallets, of Quebec's soda drinkers

A lesson in branding, 20 years in the making...

It seems there's no competition between Pepsi and Coca Cola in the province of Quebec. In the hearts of French-Canadians, Pepsi reigns as their cola of choice.

Here's a summary of what I read in a recent ReportOnBusiness article:

When both companies entered the Canadian market, several decades ago, their strategy was to tailor their marketing initiatives to a nationwide culture, wrongfully assuming that Canadian culture was homogeneous from the Rockies to the Maritimes. It was Pepsi who chose to listen to the market reaction and to this day is reaping the benefits.While Coca Cola became an instant favourite with English Canada-its impact was limited in Quebec. Coca Cola felt it was enough to simply translate their English slogans to French, but the response was disappointing. As Canadians well know, Quebecois pride themselves on their unique culture and disapprove of anything that lumps them in with the rest of Canada (apparently soda included!)

Having faced a similar defeat, in the French-speaking market, Pepsi chose to re-vamp its campaigns. They hired French-Canadian comedian Claude Meunier to star in a series of commercials that highlighted Quebec landmarks.

Did it work? By 1984, just 2 years after introducing their Quebec-only ads, Pepsi had a 20% lead in the cola market. The featured ads were obviously striking the right chord in Quebec. According to a recent ReportOnBusiness article, while a Pepsi spokesperson wouldn't provide specific numbers, she was insistent that Pepsi was still the market leader in Quebec.

The lesson: An undeniable loyalty was built between Pepsi lovers and Quebec during a period of great uncertainty and turmoil in the French province. This loyalty proved to be critical; nearly 20 years after Pepsi’s initial Quebec-only campaigns, Coca Cola is still struggling to find their footing in this market. Pepsi serves as a precedent for other companies' considering the Quebec market; they prove to be successful you must understand the culture you are entering.

The facts provided are based on several news reports that I read throughout the last week, namely one from ReportonBusiness.com

Lindt's Gold Bunny Smart Car

7:45 am.

Tuesday morning.

I'm drowsy, barely awake and I'm driving to my 8:30 finance class. I'm going to be late, the traffic ahead is looming and all I can think about is sleep. I look towards the upcoming traffic lights but my view is obstructed. Peaking in between the bustle of cars, I see golden ears! EARS? I ram the peddle and zoom into the rush of traffic to find 3 Gold Bunny Smart Cars driving in a perfect row. And all of a sudden my brains makes the connection, Gold Bunny= Lindt Chocolate. Just the thought of all that chocolate overwhelms me with a desire to devour a single foil-wrapped Lindor ball. Hmmm...

I learned that the cars were part of a campaign that was originally launched for the Easter holiday market in 2004. Along with mall and in-store appearances, the Gold Bunny Smart Cars were also planned to be featured in Toronto's Easter Day Parade. I honestly don't remember having heard anything of the campaign when it was launched nor seeing the Smart Cars around the city. BUT, I DO HEART THE IDEA! It's a perfect reminder of how much I adore my chocolate. Now used as the official company car, I'm anticipating seeing more of the bunny ears around the GTA. It's a simple idea, but it works: I went out & bought Lindt chocolate that afternoon.

Now that's a good way to start my Tuesday morning!

A New Take on Political Advertising & My Guilty Pleasure: 'The Blog'

It’s fair to say that I know more about the American presidential nominees than I do about our own Canadian counterparts. I was halfway around the world during the preliminary elections last year and more in tune with what was happening in the United States than during the last Canadian election.

So, I have a confession; I have a secret, guilty pleasure: ‘the blog’.

Okay, so I’m a super-super dork! But I guess it explains how I’ve been able to keep up-to-date with all the latest political news. I have to wonder whether bloggers ever sleep though because despite an 8 hour time difference, which would make it 3am Eastern standard time, the informational relay is instantaneous.

Anyway, one day I was on PerezHilton.com (a more gossip-oriented blogger) and was reading his latest post about Halle Berry wearing a “Barack the Vote” tee. Until then, I hadn’t paid much attention to the Democratic nominee (Barack Obama-to clarify) and perhaps it was the quirky tee that caught my interest but there I was with my interest fully captured. And so, I began to muse, whether Halle knew it or not, her and the bloggers, that capitalized on her every move, were changing the game of politics. They were in the midst of a completely unsanctioned advertising campaign.

Considering that Obama and McCain are going to spend just over $3 billion USD on television ads this election, I had to wonder just how influential those ads would be in luring the young voters, especially in a society dominated by ‘cool’. Halle was cool and her name attached to a presidential nominee’s campaign was nothing short of stellar advertising.

Would a classic ‘bash the other candidate’ TV ad be ‘in’ with today’s cool obsessed society?

Consider this: Blogger Perez Hilton has over 9 million hits on his website daily (with what, is safe to assume, a majority of voting eligible users), that’s over 9 million people who in the very least scanned Will.I.Am’s “Yes We Can”, a 3-minute celebrity-packed musical endorsement for Barack Obama and then read about Hilton’s ‘hurrah’ for the Democratic candidate.

Every ‘hit’ adds fuel to the fire, reminding users to vote Obama. While the true influence of blogs may never be measured, they have undeniably become a mainstream marketing medium. This is the first election that blogs have such a dominant sway in cultivating opinions regarding political candidates. The effect of the blog may become more significant than magazine and television ads, for blogs are updated regularly, present individual opinions and invite user comments. That is a massive amount of information to register.

It’s sort of incredible and yet scary to think, that even a small majority of the American voting public is being influenced by the fashion choices of Halle Berry and tall-tales of the Garner-Affleck’s’ night out with the Obama’s, but there it is: the ‘cool’ factor seeping its way into American politics. While Hilton’s merciless obsession with Hollywood may be entertaining, is it okay that voters are being bombarded by him? I’m not saying that everyone will run out to vote for Obama just because he has the obvious support of one blogger and some Hollywood elite, but it’s clear that Obama has become the ‘it’ thing of the moment.These are just some thoughts I wanted to share.

I guess we’re game now too: We’re not here to do any of McCain’s bidding, instead we will be bringing you the most current marketing news that affects and interests you! Let us know what you think!