February 1, 2010

For the first time in more than 20 years, Pepsi will not play in the grand 2010 Superbowl advertising game. Instead, they are investing $20 million into local communities via an exciting and innovative social marketing media campaign called “The Pepsi Refresh Project.”

The Refresh Project launched online January 13, 2010 allows individuals and organizations to submit ideas to refresh their communities through a grant funding program. Grant categories include: Health, Arts & Culture, Food & Shelter, The Planet, Neighborhoods, and Education with funding amounts ranging from $5k to $250k.

According to the Pepsi Refresh website, each month:

• a maximum of 1,000 applicants may be submitted,
• with up to 32 potential grant recipients to be named
• up to $1.3 million will be awarded as follows: 2 Grants at the $250,000 level; 10 Grants at the $50,000 level; 10 Grants at the $25,000 level; and 10 Grants at the $5,000 level

This will definitely be an exciting project to watch, not just because it will fund many great community organizations designed to improve our world, but to also see the way in which a notable corporation such as Pepsi is embracing social marketing media in an innovative way. As people encourage others to vote for them through social media and networking, the beauty of viral marketing and consumer engagement will surely be far reaching! Not to mention, Pepsi is receiving tremendous “free ink” coverage by taking this bold move – news organizations and bloggers have been talking, writing, blogging about it for weeks now – just google “pepsi pulls out of super bowl” and look at who’s been talking!

To learn more about the Pepsi Refresh Project, visit their website. Social marketing media offers unparalleled opportunities for businesses big and small to create innovative campaigns to engage their customers. How will you take advantage of them?