Rival Cola Companies Duke it out to Gain Momentum in Music IndustryMy Nguyen May 1, 2012
The decades-long war between cola companies, Pepsi and Coke, has reached a new all. Billboard did a recent feature on how the rival soft drink companies are utilizing their leverage to not only influence, but to also sustain the music industry.
Producer Mark Ronson is one example of the power plays that Coke is masterminding in order to keep the world’s attention on its product.
Billboard reports that, in late January, Mark Ronson was in Cannes to promote at the MIDEM music conference, “Move to the Beat,” one of Coke’s largest campaign ads to date. The ads are in support of its sponsorship of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Ronson’s original track, Anywhere in the World, featuring Katy B, is the campaign’s official anthem.
Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj was somewhere in Argentina filming for what will become Pepsi’s first global ad campaign featuring her 2010 single Moment for Life as the soundtrack.
As the new spokeswoman for the global company, PepsiCo chief marketing officer of global consumer engagement, Frank Cooper, praises Minaj on her strength as an artist and her potential to carry the ideology of the company’s movement.
“Nicki has momentum. She’s a maverick,” he told Billboard. “She represents the kind of artist who’s in the moment, making things happen on he own terms. We want to help her reinforce that and gain momentum in territories outside the U.S…We want to figure out a way to reach her fans and Pepsi consumers.”
PepsiCo is also using other spheres in order to get the word out on its product.
The company said Monday that it is partnering with Twitter to provide streaming videos of live music concerts to Pepsi’s followers on the social media site, reports BusinessWeek. The deal is a part of Pepsi’s new global ad campaign with Nicki Minaj, to revive the cola wars with its longtime rival The Coca-Cola Co.
Earlier this month, Coke announced a partnership with the online music streaming site, Spotify.
But these are, by far, not the first brainstorm sessions to come into fruition. Past attempts included, the New Coke and Crystal Clear Pepsi ad, the now defunct Pepsi Stuff and the still-active My Coke Rewards, “American Idol” for Coke versus the “The X Factor” for Pepsi, among others.
It seems like in cola-lingo, pop music has the potential to out stage either of these rival companies’ shelf life. Research firm IEG reports that PepsiCo and Coca-Cola have spent $330 million and $240 million, respectively, to gain influence over the entertainment and sports sector.
Photo courtesy of Nasci* via Flickr.
