The Campaign

With Pepsico still holding the number two spot in the energy drink category, they wanted to top the number one energy drink in the country, Coca Cola’s Cobra Energy Drink. The issue of Manny Pacquiao’s alleged use of performance enhancing drugs resurfaced was used to cause a commotion; the public was enraged as expected. The vague #PacquiaoPositive hashtag trended online in a matter of hours, causing many a speculation. News programs took notice as the controversy took a turn for the worse, accompanied by speculative articles online and on print. To temper the chaos, Pacquiao was asked to reply to the issue. A television commercial simultaneously played during various showbiz programs in different local networks, showing Pacquiao’s press conference revealing that he was indeed “positive”…for Sting PowerPacq. #PacquiaoPositive trended once more but instead, elicited positive reactions. The integrated materials made a significant commotion, especially with the online community. The trending topic #PacquiaoPositive caught on, trending twice in a span of a few days, both during the teaser and launch phases. And for the first time in its history, Pepsico sold 24,000,000 cases of Sting in the span of a month, all due to the successful Sting PowerPacq campaign.

The Brief

Determined not to settle for second best, Sting Energy Drink wanted to challenge the reigning number one and get a hold of the top spot. In order to achieve this, they needed to increase sales by encouraging the target demographic, ranging from common construction workers to even business process outsourcing agents to switch from the leading brand to Sting. Their goal is to increase top of mind awareness for the new and improved gold variant, Sting PowerPacq Energy Drink, accompanied by a volume growth triple the number of the previous year and earned digital media impressions.

Results

The integrated materials made a significant commotion, especially online. During the teaser phase, #PacquiaoPositive caught on, making it the number 2 trending topic of that day in the Philippines, even eliciting a response from Floyd Mayweather Jr.. The media took notice; television news programs, news articles on print and online talked about the rumors. After the people’s champ “press conference”, #PacquiaoPositive trended once more. But this time, it elicited a more positive response. The initial goals set for Sting PowerPacq were achieved and more. The brand’s value and worth increased to 28% from 2011’s 19%. Top of mind and spontaneous awareness increased from 12 to 18% and 47 to 50% respectively. And for the first time in its history, Pepsico sold 24,000,000 cases of Sting in the span of a month, all due to the successful campaign, tripling sales of the previous year’s sales of the old gold variant.

Execution

During the first phase of the campaign, to tease the public, the hashtag “#PacquiaoPositive” was spread all over Twitter, striking curiosity among netizens. Instigators on Twitter created rumors in order to strike discourse, enraging the public. False news articles online and on print were released, talking about the fast-spreading rumors, begging for verification and answers from the camp of the People’s Champ. Pacquiao was even told to promise an answer during his live television show. Triggering the launch of the campaign, all television stations simultaneously aired Manny Pacquiao’s mock press conference in a media roadblock. The spot featured Pacquiao confessing to the allegations that he is indeed “positive”…for the moringa-laced Sting PowerPacq. After the launch, the reveal was on every broadsheet and tabloid in the metro and in some regions all over the Philippines, with false covers and spreads showing Manny Pacquiao positive for Sting PowerPacq.

The Situation

The energy drink market is predominantly gold. And the more established brand in the category is Coca Cola’s Cobra Energy Drink with a 70% market share. This posed a concern for Pepsico and its Sting Energy Drink’s Gold Blast variant, but developed an opportunity to be more relevant as well. The product was relaunched and formulated with an ingredient familiar to the market, and known for its health and energy-giving benefits. Hence the name, Sting PowerPacq Energy Drink with Malunggay. Sting Energy Drink currently holds the number two spot in the energy drink category, with Cobra holding top rank.

The Strategy

In order for Pepsico to battle the reigning number one energy drink, they needed someone to provide Sting with a much-needed extra punch. With Manny Pacquiao being a well-known personality in the Philippines, he agreed to partner up with Pepsico to inspire the new formulation of Sting’s gold variant, now with the essence of Moringa. And so, Sting PowerPacq was born, carrying the champion boxer’s name, to establish a deeper affinity with the majority of the D/E market. For the campaign, they harped on a controversial issue he was never far from: his alleged use of steroids and other illegal performance enhancing substances. The plan involved informing the public about Manny Pacquiao being “positive”, forming speculation that he is on some substance to help him in his matches and breaking the trust of the masses. The challenge: How do you turn bad publicity into good publicity?