Pepsi recently launched a digital community for African American women – PepsiWeInspire.com. My first impression - smart move Pepsi. The Reason –brands need to start having real conversations with customers instead of relying on media companies to piecemeal access to their target audience.
Ok, let’s move past my first impression. This site is all about Pepsi serving as a platform to connect African American women with inspirational stories. Like my wife and I say to our kids when they’re crying with no tears… “we don’t believe you.” And, neither will your target audience. The story is just not believable. Let me explain… the story you're communicating to your audience goes something like this – we’re developing an online space with celebrity endorsements to inspire you.
Let me offer a voice of reason. The story should go something like this… Pepsi signs a joint venture deal with [blackmomsclub.com, mommytoomag, or any of the other websites started by and for African American women] to further their mission of providing uplifting stories to African American women. See how that sounds. It’s an inspirational story. The investment shows just that… you’re invested in the comunity. And, your resources in tandem with one of these entrepreneurs will allow you to achieve your objectives -- RELEVANT access to and believable connections with a database of users for targeted communications.
Nichelle thanks for your comments. I agree with Keenan...it's hard to get past the url partly because Pepsi is such a big brand. Again, I applaud the effort and really do feel it serves a need in the community. I just think the window dressing needs to be tweaked.
Posted by: Jeff Meade | October 13, 2009 at 03:31 PM
Jeff this is a great spotlight...while I admire the mission of PepsiWeInspire, Nichelle I guess what doesn't communicate effectively to me is that it seems more like a logo branded car that happens to have a Black driver so, it MUST be "for the people." I guess I don't see the value added that the microblog is adding to the community outside of branding. I almost get stuck right at the name. Seems like it should be WeInspire.com - Brought To You By Pepsi
Posted by: Keenan Davis | October 13, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Hi Jeff,
My name is Nichelle Stephens and I am the editor of PepsiWeInspire.com Thank you for blogging about the site. I want to let you know about the design and the content. Pepsi We Inspire is a microblog. It is is like twitter bur w/ 255 characers and pictures. We also use Facebook Connect so that anyone can submit a post or comment.
About the content, Pepsi We Inspire is a lifestyle blog with tips, recipes, recommendations, stories and links geared toward African American women. However the content can inspire every woman.
We're still in beta with a few bugs, but I encourage you and your readers to join the Pepsi We Inspire community.
Posted by: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=514648829 | October 13, 2009 at 07:09 AM
Blogs are so informative where we get lots of information on any topic. Nice job keep it up!!
Posted by: Marketing Dissertation | October 13, 2009 at 06:12 AM