By Kevin McCauley
PepsiCo, which had relied on a CEO-driven PR model, now uses a cadre of "reputation ambassadors" to create a "positive halo" for the soft drinks marketer, said Julie Hamp, senior VP-consumer relations & chief communications officer, today at the Global Strategic Communications & Measurement Conference in New York.
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The overall goal is to influence "movers to cut through the clutter to differentiate" PepsiCo from its competitors, she said.
Hamp detailed the ongoing effort to move beyond PepsiCo's soda image heritage to position it as a socially responsible food and beverage operation that is committed to fighting obesity, improving nutrition, reducing water usage and cutting wasteful packaging.
For instance, PepsiCo's "story" for Sun Chips is more than being a good high-fiber alternative to be put in a kid's lunchbox, she said. The storyline includes information about how Sun Chips are produced in a solar-powered production facility and packaged in bags that decompose quickly.
Hamp, a former GM corporate comms. exec, spoke about PepsiCo's engagement with the social media world. A mission control center at Gatorade headquarters monitors what is being said about it. Gatorade staffers respond to criticism and provide insights to help influence the conversation about the brand.
The company encourages staffers to share stories that run on its internal Pepline electronic newsletter that is filled with USA Today type stories.
Hamp said 80 percent of the Pepline articles are relevant to outsiders. As long as staffers are completely transparent about their employment by PepsiCo, the company wants them to post Pepline stores on their individual Linked-In, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Prime Research and the International Assn. of Business Communicators sponsored the event that was held at the Yale Club.
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