PepsiCo Inc. on Sept. 24 announced an open call for young entrepreneurs and forward-thinking university students in Brazil to submit business ideas for its digital incubator program PepsiCo10. The program identifies promising emerging technologies that can be applied to brands to engage consumers in new ways to help drive sales.
By Oct. 27, contestants must apply through the PepsiCo Brazil Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pepsicobrasil. There are four categories: Entertainment, Mobile, Retail and Sustainability. During Phase One of the program – September to December 2012 – judges will select five start-ups to activate marketing pilots. There will be another five selections in Phase Two – January to June 2013.
The 10 entrepreneurs or university students will implement marketing programs with global and local PepsiCo brands, among them Toddy, Doritos, Ruffles Pepsi, Quaker and H2OH!
Judges will include executive leadership from PepsiCo, venture capital firm Highland Capital and creative agencies iThink, Omnicom and local digital influencers. The PepsiCo10 Brazil winners (up to two travelers per winning submission) will be offered an all-expenses paid trip to New York City in 2013 for the opportunity to meet with PepsiCo brand marketers and network with U.S.-based digital influencers. Partnerships and pilots for Phase One and Phase Two will begin in 2013.
Launched in 2010, the inaugural PepsiCo10 US received more than 500 submissions from budding entrepreneurs that gave PepsiCo an early look at technology trends such as social TV, experience-based gaming, crowd-sourced content creation and pay-at-the-table digital promotion. In 2011 the momentum continued with PepsiCo10 Europe, attracting applicants from start-ups in 18 countries and resulting in marketing pilots with billion-dollar PepsiCo brands such as Doritos, Quaker, Walkers and Pepsi MAX.
Now in its third year, this is the first PepsiCo10 program focused on an emerging market.
“Brazil is a great market to run the PepsiCo10 program. Our brands are recognized for their imaginative and surprising programs that reach consumers in unexpected ways, like crowd-sourcing the next product flavor or involving them in a community activity,” said Nora Mirazon, consumer engagement officer at PepsiCo Brazil. “PepsiCo10 offers an amazing opportunity to accelerate our innovation process while boosting engagement with consumers in this key market.”
PepsiCo officials noted it also helps the company attract top talent by communicating with some of the brightest and most creative young Brazilian minds. In addition to the Facebook page, there is info at PepsiCo10.com.
