Through segmentation analysis, we uncovered that unique to the core Pepsi audience is their ability to influence their social network of family and friends. They strive to establish their own unique identity – they are relentless self-curators of media and as such, they actively seek out unique ways to self-express themselves as individuals.

Pepsi consumers are united by their ambition to actively seek out what is right for them rather than what those around them deem to be. They seek to expand their horizons, strive for a unique path their most passionate about and seek ways to forge their own destiny.

Pepsi needed to embrace their consumer’s passion for curation and act as the conduit that allows their consumers an opportunity to #sayitwithpepsi as form of self-expression.

The PepsiMoji campaign required us to think and do things differently, especially in media. To bring emojis to life, we translated the quick hitting, lovable emoji into an actual TV creative unit. Thus, the five-second video spot was born. We broke the mold of the traditional :15/:30s TV spot and sought out to active the first-ever, massively scaled five-second video campaign.

To pull off such a feat, media negotiations with TV Networks started as early as November 2015. After 6 months of intense conversations, and simply not taking “No” as an answer, the team was able to negotiate adoption of over 100 unique & customized:05s creative ads across over 40 networks.

Media and trafficking collaboration allowed for contextual relevancy down to the customized pairing of three similar :05s units in relevant premium programming to tell a connected story arc for each and every TV moment.

Overall, Pepsi’s big risk on emojis and the five-second format paid off in a big way - the PepsiMoji campaign exceeded expectations and delivered increased ROI to prove the efficacy of the newly developed five-second ad format.

Profit ROI for critical summer months rose a staggering 45% YOY, despite only marginal increases in media spending YOY.

The PepsiMoji campaign experienced a significant lift in awareness (40%) during the campaign and, as a result, saw significant increases across most brand perceptions, including brand love and trust. Despite being outspent by the competition, consumers found the PepsiMoji campaign the most appealing (39% for Pepsi vs. 24% for competitor’s program).