Pepsi Refresh Project

Weber Shandwick leads a number of key components of the Pepsi Refresh Project (PRP), a groundbreaking program in which Pepsi is giving away more than $20 million in 2010 to fund good ideas, big and small, that refresh the world. Each month, Pepsi invites individuals and organizations to submit ideas that they believe will move communities forward and the public votes to decide who wins. Pepsi awards Refresh grants to the ideas with the most votes, up to $1.3 million each month. Weber Shandwick, as a part of a multi-agency effort, was tasked with building awareness around the PRP, driving participation and generating online conversation through digital strategy and social media execution. Our team also manages local media outreach, working closely with the Pepsi bottler network and the six category Ambassadors for the program.

Throughout the year, our team has driven conversations with key digital influencers and bloggers, fostering discussion and providing regular updates on the program. Our team works with Pepsi leaders to connect with online media at Social Media Week events, and oversaw PRP’s presence at SxSW 2010, where we organized flash panel discussions with leading bloggers and conducted media outreach to showcase Pepsi’s digital activation at the conference. We also support messaging and strategy for Pepsi’s Facebook and Twitter presence.

To sustain a steady stream of media coverage, our team pursues local outreach each month around targeted Refresh grant recipients, as well as the additional investment Pepsi made this summer to support communities affected by the oil spill in the Gulf. Our efforts have secured coverage across the country, including the Chicago Tribune, Albany Times-Union, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and network affiliates in top media markets. We also work closely with local Pepsi bottlers to help them amplify local grantee stories, and engage bottlers to support implementation of grants through volunteer opportunities or by providing product at grant-supported events. 

Below is a video highlighting the impact of the Pepsi Refresh Project in local communities, developed by GOOD, a partner in the PRP.