The following is a response blog to Kyle’s Yoshida’s post on Pepsi’s “Test Drive” Viral Video. Please see here for his post. 

I greatly enjoyed the video, and found it to be an exceptional example of how effective viral videos can be when done well. I found it how interesting that Pepsi did not choose to explicitly say anything that would encourage buyers to purchase their product. Instead, they used product placement, and left it to the viewers to decide for themselves. The video builds Pepsi’s brand, and associates the Pepsi name with excitement and thrill in the consumer’s mind. This builds the long-term brand power of Pepsi, as thrill-seeking youth buy into what Pepsi represents.

I think the challenge with viral videos is that it is not easy to get these videos to go viral – I imagine we probably underestimate the difficulty of this because we only see the viral videos that have been successful. For every successful viral video there are likely hundreds if not thousands of failed attempts.  In this particular case, I think the effectiveness of the content helped Pepsi’s video gain views rapidly. I think Pepsi’s decision to use more subtle marketing in terms of the product placement may have helped this. If the video had had Pepsi plastered all over it, the average viewer might be less willing to post it on his Facebook, for example. Because the video is more about the test drive and less about Pepsi, even viewers who have no real attachment to Pepsi will be willing to share it, and create a ripple effect in terms of view count. All in all, an interesting piece of marketing.

Marketing is about satisfying customer needs and wants. Often, companies compete with others to fulfill these needs or wants in a standardized manner. Think Kellogg’s Corn Flakes competing with General Mills’ Cheerios. Occasionally, these companies revolutionize the industry by finding an innovative new way of fulfilling the need. Enter liquid breakfast.

Both General Mills and Kellogg, amongst other smaller names have identified a growing desire for on-the-go breakfasts. Environmental scanning is important for marketers wishing to remain relevant in an ever-changing world. These cereal giants were able to connect social trends towards a time-poor society with a desire for a quick-and-easy breakfast. Since then, smaller names such as Oatworks have tied this social trend with the trend towards an increasingly health conscious population – the result of which is a niche market with mobile breakfast options for individuals looking to save time while still starting off the day with a nutritious jumpstart.

The interesting thing about this product innovation is that it arises in a highly mature industry – the breakfast foods market. Although we often associate product innovation with Apple and technology, this just goes to show that product innovation is possible in virtually any industry, just not as obviously as it is in others.  In an area where the biggest changes are generally the amount of sugar in a bowl of cereal, the move towards liquid breakfast should inspire new interest, and most importantly, fulfill new customer desires. For Kellogg and General Mills, customer satisfaction should translate to business success in the long-term.