Now, as sports go, cricket may not be big in the United States. But over in India, it’s the bee’s knees.
(Sorry, but we couldn’t resist.)
The Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament is big business in the nation of more than one billion, and for the 2015 season, IPL sponsor Pepsi is betting big on co-creation.
As part of its Pepsi Challenge global campaign – which the soft drink giant is billing as “its largest socially led, content-driven to date” – the company is empowering consumers to design television and digital ads or campaigns to run between April 8 and May 24 during the IPL season.
According to Pepsi, Indian consumers can show their affection for the soft drink brand by producing 30-second ad shorts around the theme “Crash the Pepsi IPL.” A panel of judges will select the best entries to air.
“There will be six new advertisements every weekend throughout the IPL season,” explained Ruchira Jaitly, senior director (social beverages), PepsiCo India.
At AE Marketing Group, we agree it’s a risk, but in this case a small one. The campaign presents an opportunity for Pepsi and the IPL to truly engage with its fan base to create an even more robust customer experience by connecting them more intimately with the brands.
During the final week of the season, the best consumer-voted ads will air and finalists will receive cash prizes. The plan, Jaitly said, is for the Pepsi Challenge initiative to eventually be launched in other markets.
We expect that it will since co-creation, shows no sign of slowing down. To learn more about the AE co-creation Lab Series and what it can do for your company, simply click here.