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Pepsi gives unliked posts a second chance

PepsiCo is giving users? old social media posts that originally received no attention a chance to be seen, while also giving to charity and leveraging celebrity meet-and-greets. 

For its Pepsi Zero Sugar brand, the beverage manufacturer has employed actor Jeremy Piven to meet and greet social media sweepstakes winners. The contest continues with Pepsi encouraging users to repost old social media posts that at first garnered zero likes, but this time including its hashtag to donate to charity and see their posts published on its gallery. 

"Social media is the heart of this campaign. With the #GiveZero and #GetZero program, we?re driving brand awareness with fun, zero-stress ways for consumers to engage with Pepsi Zero Sugar where they?re spending their time," said Jenny Danzi, senior brand manager at Pepsi. "We?ve already seen significant engagement from consumers across the country since the program launch.

Zero likes
Pepsi Zero Sugar is playing off its name for its latest campaign. Social media posts that have gotten ?zero? likes are getting another chance. 

The campaign encourages users to repost these old posts with the hashtag #GiveZero. Pepsi Zero Sugar will share the posts on its gallery, where it has the potential to garner much more likes than its first time around. 

Pepsi.com/givezero is the campaign?s mobile-optimized dedicated Web page that features participant?s posts. 

For each post with the hashtag, PepsiCo will donate the cost of one Pepsi Zero Sugar can to ZeroCancer.org to help the fight against Men?s Prostate Cancer. 

To kick off the campaign, Pepsi Zero Sugar launched a sweepstakes on social media. Users that shared an image or post with the hashtag #GetZero were automatically entered to win a flight aboard a charter flight with Zero G. 

The Zero G experience recreates the feeling of zero gravity that you would feel in space. 

Winners aboard the flight were surprised with a guest appearance by Mr. Piven, who joined them for the experience. 

Pepsi Zero Sugar?s campaign is meant to build excitement surrounding its name change. Originally known as Pepsi Max, Pepsi Zero Sugar has rebranded to put an emphasis on its lack of sugar. 

Social media strategy
PepsiCo leverages a wide range of innovative, interactive campaigns via mobile and social media. 

For instance, PepsiCo was the first to partner with Twitter for its promoted sticker launch as a leg in the consumer packaged goods marketer's Pepsimoji campaign, which populated the physical and digital realms with millennial-friendly symbols. 

The promoted Twitter stickers allowed users to connect with Pepsi by incorporating marketed content within their own photos, essentially turning everyday users into brand ambassadors. The new ad product was Twitter?s latest venture in its continued focus on branded emojis and stickers as the platform looks to orchestrate a turnaround (see more). 

PepsiCo leveraged the excitement surrounding the MTV Video Music Awards by introducing a new mobile-optimized music hub during the show, allowing millennials to enjoy tunes and discover up-and-coming artists through the Shazam-amplified platform.

The brand kicked off the launch of its new music hub, The Sound Drop, with appearances by popular artists such as Alessia Cara and Lukas Graham. The platform, which also leveraged partnerships with Shazam, MTV and iHeartMedia, let emerging artists share their stories and art with fans through social media activations and influencer networks (see more). 

"We?re building brand awareness for Pepsi Zero Sugar through breakthrough, unique experiences for our consumers like the #GiveZero and #GetZero program," Ms. Danzi said. "Pepsi Zero Sugar is all about finding new ways to celebrate Zero, whether it?s by giving our fans the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime zero gravity trip on a Zero G plane, or the opportunity to donate to prostate cancer research in a simple, fun way using their social media accounts.

"So far, the reaction to the program has been very positive ? everyone who hears about it instantly wants to scroll back through their social feed and find those zero-liked posts," she said.