TheGrill: PepsiCo, Red Bull Execs – We Will Do What Hollywood Can’t (Video)

“There’s a market failure within our broader system, why not fill it ourselves?” says PepsiCo CMO Frank Cooper III during TheWrap’s annual media conference at the Montage

Pepsi and Red Bull have different approaches to quenching thirst, so it makes sense that top executives from each company have different takes on how best to develop its branded content.

Frank Cooper III, CMO in charge of global consumer engagement with PepsiCo, joined TheWrap‘s CEO and editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman for a conversation at TheGrill, TheWrap’s fifth annual Media Leadership Conference at the Montage in Beverly Hills.

See photosThe Scene at TheGrill 2014: TheWrap’s Media Leadership Conference (Photos)

“If you think about Pepsi at its best, what we did is take this brand and connect with culture,” Cooper said. “But technology and entertainment and culture in general are shaping things in ways we couldn’t predict.”

Cooper insisted the traditional 30-second TV spot was just the starting point for branding these days, especially considering Pepsi’s 99.8 percent brand awareness. In his opinion, the world’s sudden reliance on digital delivery devices — like iPads, YouTube, and third-party mobil apps — have made traditionally recognized demographics less vital than than in the past.

“Age, gender, income, location — it’s no longer a great proxy for people. There are delivery systems that allow you to tell the stories in a different way,” he said.

“Mobile is changing everything,” Cooper continued. “With 5.5 million subscribers worldwide interacting with their devices 50 to 150 times a day, that changes everything … if you defined it with traditional demographics, you’d fall short.”

Also readTheGrill: Morgan Spurlock on Making ‘Super Size Me’ and Saying No to Yes-Men (Video)

“Do you think Hollywood is evolving [to meet those demands]?” Waxman asked him.

“It better,” he responded. “Everything else is evolving. Social media, technology, etc. If it doesn’t someone will fill that place telling stories across the delivery systems.

“There’s a market failure within our broader system, why not fill it ourselves?” Cooper continued.

His company has in fact done just that. Pepsi has written checks to filmmakers — like Spike Lee and Diego Luna — plus a variety of popular musicians in order to create content that can be delivered to audiences via YouTube and mobile devices, that Pepsi is backing but doesn’t explicitly promote its products.

Also read5 Takeaways From TheGrill NYC: Vice’s $2 Billion Ambitions, Red Bull’s Contagious Biz Model

TheWrap - TheGrill 2014 - Day 1
Getty Images

Werner Brell, managing director of Red Bull Media House, has a slightly different approach, having joined Red Bull seven years ago to help spin-off the dedicated media company.

While it too works in content creation and focused distribution efforts across YouTube, mobile platforms, etc., Red Bull seems to be more focused on complete vertical integration.

“We’re the creators, producers, distributors, and publishers [of the content],” Brell said. “We pretty much own the whole value chain. We created new sports, new series.”

Also readTheGrill NYC: Vice’s Shane Smith, Mariska Hargitay, Red Bull’s Werner Brell, Maker Studios’ Erin McPherson (Photos)

It’s something that helps cut internal costs and also allows them to license content to third parties because they own the rights, and helps them reach a much wider demographic, he continued.

“If you consider the 45-year-old that wants to be 20 and the 14-year-old who wants to be 20, that’s the audience,” Brell explained. “It’s a psycho-graphic, not a pure age demographic.”
See TheWrap’s complete coverage of TheGrill 2014 — News, Photos, Videos

jeff bewkes thegrill abigail spencer

TheGrill: Innovators Talk Opportunities, Pitfalls for Video Content in the Digital Age

TheGrill: New Economy’s Top Investors Reveal Why ‘Sports Rights Are Beachfront Real Estate’ (Video)

TheGrill: Ron Meyer on Hollywood ‘Assholes,’ CAA ‘Monsters’ and Advice for the Next Generation

TheGrill: ‘Rectify’ Star Abigail Spencer Says ‘Most of the Great Female Roles Are Happening on Television’

TheGrill: Ron Meyer on His Two Biggest Successes and Why ‘Titanic’ Is His Biggest Regret

TheGrill: Crowdfunding Experts Ponder the Question of What’s In It for the Crowd (Video)

TheGrill: How Top Hollywood Executives Use Social Media for Casting Movies (Video)

TheGrill: Crowdfunder Raises $3.5 Million in Series A Round of Financing (Exclusive)

TheGrill: C4’s Vincent Bruzzese Demostrates How to Pitch a Movie Using Big Data (Video)

TheGrill: MySpace’s Chris DeWolfe, YouTube’s Chad Hurley On What Happens When Hollywood and Gaming Play Nice (Video)

TheGrill: Hollywood’s Studio Presidents Vie For Chance to Make ‘Rain Man’ Today (Video)

TheGrill: AMC Networks Chief Josh Sapan Says You Can’t ‘Science Your Way’ to Great Content (Video)

TheGrill: Morgan Spurlock on Making ‘Super Size Me’ and Saying No to Yes-Men (Video)

TheGrill: Time Warner’s Jeff Bewkes Talks Cutbacks, New NBA Deal and Why CNN’s Ratings Don’t Matter (Video)

TheGrill: Tech to Hollywood — ‘We’re Here to Solve Your Problems’

TheGrill: PepsiCo, Red Bull Execs – We Will Do What Hollywood Can’t (Video)

The Scene at TheGrill 2014: TheWrap’s Media Leadership Conference (Photos)

Comments