CorpComms Magazine

It is recognised globally in the guise of cola drink Pepsi, tortilla crisps Doritos and soft drinks Tropicana and Gatorade, to name but a handful of its nearly 300 brands, and is known for expensive Super Bowl advertisements and its multi-billion dollars profit. But now snacks and soda giant PepsiCo aspires not only to 'do well' but also to 'do good' where it matters - fulfilling its company motto Performance with purpose.

By harnessing the powers of social media and crowdsourcing, PepsiCo is engaging with consumers and employees on an impressive scale, driving the multinational company forward in its goal to become a truly 'social business' - where 'social' refers not to a Facebook page or Twitter feed, but to social responsibility.

This year, PepsiCo ditched plans for Super Bowl advertisements, among the most expensive in the world where one 30 second slot this year was rumoured to cost $2.6 million (£1.7 million), in favour of the Pepsi Refresh Project, an online cause marketing campaign which encourages individuals, businesses and non-profit organisations to submit innovative projects in the hope of winning a share of the $20 million (£13.2 million) on offer.

Visitors to the 'Refresh Everything' website can vote across categories such as health, education, neighbourhoods or the planet, to choose which projects PepsiCo should fund. More than 1,100 projects ranging from a $5,000 request from the American Indian Centre of Chicago to grow a green medicine garden with urban Native American youths and elders to a request for $250,000 to install 6,000 bee poles, that attract native bees for propagation and habitation, in municipal, state and federal parks.

'It is part of the DNA of PepsiCo to think differently,' says global director of digital and social media B. Bonin Bough. 'We're a big organisation, and when a big organisation moves, a lot happens. Being cognisant of the opportunity that you have - and the possibilities of generating change - is what excites me.'

Good for goodness sake?

To date, the Pepsi Refresh Project has distributed between $5,000 (£3,300) and $250,000 (£165,000) to more than 120 projects, ranging from improving the conditions of a children's home to funding one year of research into a cure for Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

And in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, PepsiCo pledged that all funds distributed in July would go to projects aimed at 'refreshing the Gulf'. While crowdsourcing has been heralded as a way to find solutions for a mass cleanup after the spill, PepsiCo is the first to use crowdsourcing to provide direct assistance to Gulf communities affected by the catastrophe.

The 'Do Good for the Gulf' branch of the Refresh Project will receive a total of $1.3 million (£860,000).

But in spite of all this doing good, there will always be cynicism. 'Like the larger Refresh Project, the 'Do Good for the Gulf' initiative is a relatively cheap way for Pepsi to get some press while polishing their halo,' says the website of Fast Company magazine. Can large profit-making companies ever catch a break for trying to impact the world around them?

'If somebody looks at [a project] and says They are only doing it because it looks good, then 'so what?' in some respects,' reasons Bough. 'If that were the case - which it's not - then it would be great if every organisation marketed by giving away $20 million to ideas that moved the community forward! Those to me are the big ideas that have a positive impact on society. I think brands are an integral part of our lives and to see them take on practices that will continue to make them integral because of the consciousness developing in society is not a bad thing.'

On the sustainability front, PepsiCo leads the way as the biggest purchaser of recycled plastic in America. In keeping with 'the promise of PepsiCo' - the belief that sustainable growth can be achieved by investing in a healthier future for people and the planet - the company set itself a new challenge: changing the behaviour of the population with the hope of increasing recycling. As Bough points out, only 13 American states have recycling programmes in place, so rolling out a national initiative required an innovative approach.

Enter the newly launched Dream Machine, a vending machine-style kiosk where users deposit an empty plastic bottle or drinks can in return for points which can be redeemed for prizes. To promote the Dream Machine Summer Recycling Challenge, actress and comedian Aisha Tyler plays the superhero in a short video, chasing a plastic bottle across town and knocking back bad guys in her bid to show her unwavering commitment to recycling.

Meanwhile, the more Americans recycle, the more funding PepsiCo will provide to the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities, a free training service helping post 9/11 disabled army veterans build their own businesses.

Created in partnership with Waste Management, North America's leading waste and environmental services provider, and Keep America Beautiful, a volunteerbased community action organisation, the Dream Machine can already be spotted in a variety of locations, with plans in place to install several thousand across the country by the end of the year. The goal is to recycle 400 million cans and bottles each year, increasing the rate from 34 to 50 per cent of drinks containers by 2018.

Communicating the change

It is not enough, however, to effect change. Bough and his team want to exploit digital media to the maximum to ensure more consumers are aware of PepsiCo's projects and the ways in which they can get involved.

Can a barcode tell a story? asks a PepsiCo promotional video. It goes on to describe plans to turn the Universal Purchase Code into the Universal Purpose Code, whereby scanning a smartphone over a product's barcode would unlock information about 'how PepsiCo's brands are giving back', opening a window into the stories behind the products. From partnerships with farmers and other members of the supply chain, to environmental and social projects, the aim is for loyal fans to 'experience the promise of PepsiCo' for themselves - and become enthused enough to support the projects.

One can only hope that other organisations will follow PepsiCo's lead when it comes to building a social business. 'We try to be at the places where new thinking is being created,' says Bough. 'I think there are a lot of great organisations that are very cognisant of their ability to bring about good and are moving to do that. And I think that as a citizen of the world outside of PepsiCo, that is a great thing.'

Facts and figures

• PepsiCo will give a total of $20 million to Pepsi Refresh projects
• More than 120 projects have already received funding
• Submissions are accepted between 1st and 15th of each month, or until 1,000 ideas are submitted
• Projects must be beneficial, achievable, constructive and 'shovel ready', meaning they can be finished within 12 months of funding
• Projects can apply for $5,000, $25,000, $50,000 or $250,000 in funding
• Up to ten projects will be selected for each funding category each month, with exception of $250,000 requests where up to two will be selected
• 800,000 Facebook users 'Like' the Pepsi Refresh Project
• PepsiCo wants America to recycle 50 per cent of drinks containers by 2018
• North Carolina already has 150 Dream Machine recycling kiosks

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