Classic: Pepsi, Coke & Jimi Hendrix

What if? One can only imagine... Pepsi did a brilliant job in the old days, taking on #1 Coke. These days, Audi is doing a similar approach taking on Mercedes-Benz with their latest campaign. Young, and innovative vs. old and stodgy.

I am not sure where and when Pepsi went wrong over the years. Their advertising messaging, and their identity, has changed as often over the last twenty years as Lady Gaga has changed her outfit in a single month. For the Gaga brand, that is key. It's what's expected. For a consumer brand trying to build lasting brand equity, it's a disaster.

Watch any Pepsi commercial from, let's say 1980, '85, '90, '95 and so on, and you'll see that the brand went in all possible directions. No clear strategy had been defined. The only consistent thing in all this really is the name.

My assumption is that neither the branding / ad agency doing the creative part lasted long enough to create consistency. But much more so I think the Pepsi marketing / brand management team is to blame. What usually happens in this industry is this: one marketing manager leaves his/her job for a better opportunity - most often after 2-3 years - and a new one is being hired. To leave his/her personal mark, they start tweaking the packaging, the logo, change ad agencies, do a massive communication overhaul. After all, you have to show your new employer that you can do stuff.

Then there is the other kind of marketing / brand manager. The one that is executing marketing text-book style, but without a clear understanding of the brand. They are too busy spending the money, moving massive volumes of communication executions around, and not spending enough time and focus on the brand DNA (or territory, or equity). Or they don't know better. That's when they turn to the ad agency, hoping they will hand them the holy grail.

My advice to any maker of consumer goods: Hire a great brand manager. Employ a recruiter to find one, because calling yourself brand manager doesn't make you a good one. Pay him/her well. Make sure to keep them around. Then listen to their advice. Building a brand is about consistency, not constant change. Unless you're Lady Gaga.