It was July 1998 and the beverage industry was going through difficult times in Uruguay. Specifically, the increase in sales of “B-brands” (brands that do not invest in advertising and earn market prices), which continued to enter the country illegally, combined with the hegemony of the Cola Roja brand and double taxation, was creating a cocktail of problems. The price of the product was the highest in the world!
The problem was clear for Pepsi, they needed a successful campaign to increase their sales. After reviewing and analyzing many different campaigns, Pepsi executives decided to move the cola war to soccer. Uruguayans are passionate about soccer, there are two clubs in which the preferences of Uruguayans are divided, the Club Atlético Peñarol and the Nacional Football Club. Other first division clubs are made up of approximately 10% of the fans and even they often support Nacional or Peñarol.
The first conclusion was that there was little to lose and much to gain. On the one hand they could lose the support of the Peñarol fans, but on the other hand they could win over the Nacional fans, it was more attractive to fight for the possible 50% than for the ideal and imaginary 100%. After realizing that the benefits clearly outweighed the negatives, they began planning the campaign.
The first concept on which they began to work and would develop the proposal was passion. This would be something more than habits, brand preference and in general any rational message and that was the only way to break the hegemony of the Red Tail brand. This dichotomy will also provide more passionate customers and fans for Pepsi. For this reason, Pepsi wanted to achieve greater identification with the Club and not just be a sponsor, it wanted to be the main partner, especially in those times when Nacional celebrated the 100th anniversary of its birth (1889-1999). Specifically:
1) The strategy generated mutual benefits: Nacional had received a very important basis for a 3-year contract. In addition, the club had taken over all the brand’s advertising on various channels.
2) Pepsi capitalized on this identity based on consumer loyalty. Regardless of the sports results, the company would enjoy the support of thousands of fans who would recognize the conceptual unity.
3) Pepsi extended its presence to an environment such as soccer by being the main sponsor of the official kit.
4) Nacional had an advertising medium that was important to develop a massive membership campaign that doubled the current figure at the time.
As a final evaluation, Pepsi’s strategy with the National agreement gave positive results at first and this was mainly due to the celebration of 100 years and the good sports results. Participation and commitment grew and remained at good levels for a while, then sporting successes decreased and the situation in the country demanded more investment from Pepsi, which led to the termination of the agreement.