Context

Did you know that, according to a recent survey, 72% of consumers acknowledge the influence of packaging design on their purchasing decisions? To that effect, Pepsi’s unconventional and ingenious product packaging initiatives have delivered countless hits over the years.

With tough competition in the retail industry, capturing consumer attention is key to delivering superior shopping experiences, leading to more sales. Pepsi does this well, investing in product packaging and designing to stay top of mind with existing and potential customers.

Similarly, Pepsi has launched sets of noteworthy, limited-edition cans inspired by the celebrated Spanish drama Money Heist, UEFA Champions League, National Football League (NFL), and Peeps in 2021.

Pepsi’s marketing strategy includes collaborations with big brands from diverse industries by pooling in hotshot celebrities and limited product drops with eye-catchy package design and detailing. After all, consumer preferences and product choices rapidly evolve, and customizing to those customers’ preferences shifts is what the beverage giant excels at.

First off, let’s explore the Pepsi Collabs ‘Pack’ Design in 2021.

Whether customers love them or hate them, Peeps return every year. In fact, many associate spring and Easter festivities with the sugar bedazzled animal-shaped marshmallow flooding the local CVS. Besides, just like Pepsi, Peeps has a track record of working with other companies, like International Delight, Crocs, Oreo, and Kellogg’s.

Moreover, social media efforts ensure that customers were involved as well. Yes! Customers interested in buying the themed cans could win one by posting a picture on Twitter and Instagram with their socially-distanced ilk tagging @Pepsi with #HangingWithMyPEEPS.

Money Heist x Pepsi Limited Edition Gold Cans

With special edition Money Heist cans, Pepsi is tapping into the cult following of the Spanish crime drama. In its most recent collaboration with streaming giant Netflix, Pepsi is betting big on the widely celebrated elements such as Dali Mask and Bella Ciao from the show.

The cans take fans to a blown-up virtual fan party, ultimately letting them access exclusive content and whatnot. The limited-edition golden cans strive to reach, attract, and engage audiences through platforms most relevant to them.      

The limited-edition golden cans also feature a QR code that invites fans to attend the YouTube fan party. Fans can also use the code to scan the Pepsi logo marketing channels – billboards, cans, etc., via Pepsi India’s Instagram filter to acquire their golden ticket.

Pepsi x NFL 2021 Collaboration

NFL event stats Pepsi’s NFL cans extend an ode to sport’s dynamism, featuring a player in action as a quarterback, kicker, receiver, or runner in various team uniforms. The product’s packaging has different colors highlighting the players’ playing positions in proper proportions.

Since the collaboration was between the PepsiCo Design team in Mexico and the NFL, the specially designed cans donned an illustration style for beloved Pittsburg Stealers, Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, and the New England Patriots. These team-specific components on the cans aim to attract fans and non-fans alike.

UFEA Special Edition Pepsi Cans 2021

For honoring the ritual of football and its fans worldwide, Pepsi has turned to UEFA Champions League, yet again, limited-running cans featuring global sports stars, including Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Jadon Sancho, and Shanice van de Sanden.

The special edition packaging strives to capture shoppers’ attention at a time when the much-loved sport will be front of mind worldwide and soft drinks will be in demand. The limited-edition packaging campaigns are also launched on social media platforms, including Instagram and TikTok, to cater to a larger customer base.

Let’s Decode Consumers’ Preferences Against Pepsi’s Collab Cans in 2021

Now, it’s time for an in-depth emotion scoop into the product packaging for these four sets. We interpret the noticeability, likeability, stopping power, and holding power for the special edition cans with competitor cans from Classic Pepsi, Coca Cola, and Sprite for India and US consumers.

What Do Customers in India and US Feel About Pepsi Collab Cans?

Here, closing power indicates engagement, the emotional intensity evoked, and a strong correlation to persuasion. On the other hand, the stopping power encompasses time to discovery, which encapsulates the average time elapsed when the respondent first discovers the Area of Interest (AOI). In parallel, holding power depicts earned attention, which indicates the average time spent by all the consumers.

For the respondents in India, the pack grabbed the highest AL score of 31.32, holding power of 3.86, and closing power of 14.09.  

For the US respondents, AL score and holding power remain the highest for the football cans at 34.83 and 3.32, respectively. Its closing power remained remarkably high at 29.85, second only to the Money Heist can at 28.89.

In the overall analysis considering all the four cans for US and Indian audiences, football cans with the intricately designed graphics of Lionel Messi and Paul Pogba emerge as the winning packs.  

Consumers’ Response Towards Entropik’s Post survey Questionnaire

We surveyed respondents with a few questions to decipher the overall brand appeal, brand loyalty, likeability, and noticeability. Let’s get cracking on their responses. The emotion stats unveil that 62% of consumers from India and 45% from the US market are strongly willing to switch to the special edition cans by switching from the brands they are currently using. 36.21% of respondents in India and 36.84% from the US said that “I would use my current brand and also use this brand.”

Brand Appeal of Pepsi Special Edition Cans

Nearly 65% of consumers from India acknowledged that limited-edition cans were “very appealing.” For instance, 65.57% of respondents from India found the NFL shelf “very appealing,” and 65.52% found the Football shelf “very appealing.”

Alternatively, we recorded mixed responses from the US consumers. 30% of US respondents found the Money Heist shelf “somewhat appealing,” and 30.65% found the Football shelf the same.

Nearly 65% of consumers from India acknowledged that limited-edition cans were very appealing for them. For instance, 65.57% of respondents from India found the NFL shelf “very appealing,” and 65.52% found the Football shelf “very appealing.”

Alternatively, we recorded mixed responses from the US consumers. 30% of US respondents found the Money Heist shelf “somewhat appealing,” and 30.65% found the Football shelf the same.

How Consumers Responded to the Uniqueness of the Special Editions Cans?

Nearly 60% of Indian respondents found the special edition cans unique and different. For instance, 63.73% voted for the Football shelf, and 60.34% voted for the Money Heist shelf to be “very unique and different.” On the other hand, US consumers found most Pepsi cans to be “common.”

Close to 63% of consumers from India are “very likely” to recommend the limited-edition packs to others. On the contrary, US consumers were mainly unwilling to recommend the same to their family and friends. 65.52% of Indian consumers will “very likely” recommend the Money Heist-inspired.

What Do Consumers Prefer?

Considering the US consumers, many respondents recalled Pepsi, Coca-Cola, Sprite, and Money Heist-themed Pepsi cans. While talking about the packs or cans that they noticed over the shelf, consumers mentioned football, bright themes, colors of the cans, and design as the most noticeable, attention-grabbing elements.

In parallel, the majority of the Indian consumers recalled the Money Heist-themed packs, Pepsi, Coca Cola, and Sprite. Besides, they found the special edition cans to be new, attractive, appealing, and unique. The consumers also noticed the colorful elements and the design of the packs.

How likely are respondents to buy Pepsi Limited Edition cans?

A vast majority of the respondents, 43.86% of the US audience and 43.1% of Indian consumers, were interested in purchasing the Money Heist cans. The majority of the respondents from India are willing to buy the special edition cans, whereas only 30% of respondents from the US were interested in purchasing them. 67.24% of Indian respondents said they “definitely will buy” from the Football shelf, and 67.21% said they “definitely will buy” from the NFL shelf.

This high inclination is assignable to the bright golden-colored pack and the much-loved, prominent features of the Dali Mask and Bella Ciao. Next, 28.07% of US respondents were interested in buying the NFL cans.

Does consumers’ Brand Loyalty shift with response to Pepsi x Brand Collabs special edition cans?

Yes! Money Heist and Peeps marshmallow cans emerged as the most liked designs amongst the Indian and US consumers. 34.48% of Indian respondents and 21.05% of US respondents favored the Money Heist cans. Similarly, 22.41% of Indian respondents and 29.82% of US audiences liked the Peeps cans’ colorful designs.  

How Product Pack Design Influences Consumers’ Purchase Intent?

As we can see, if brands don’t focus adequately on the packaging, they can miss out on potential sales and marketing opportunities. Besides, 7 in 10 shoppers acknowledge that product packaging influences their buying decisions. It clearly depicts how brands must consider packaging from the marketing and sales perspective along with the usual functionality standpoint.

Still wondering why packaging is crucial to driving sales figures?

That’s because when customers are faced with a slew of offerings in stores, product packaging becomes central to their purchase decision-making process. Often when customers are purchasing off the rack, most shoppers tend to choose products with eyeball-grabbing packaging. In fact, studies reveal that most shoppers have decided to try a new product because they noticed it first on the store shelf or the packaging caught their attention.

These stats underline the importance of ensuring that your package design helps your pack stand out. After all, there has not been a more competitive ecosystem in the retail industry. To survive the competition and thrive, innovation is vital. With Emotion AI-driven shopper testing solutions and revolutionize in-store experiences for your customers and boost sales.

Test product pack design against competitor brand packages and packaging efficacy to lift noticeability and pick-up rate. Quantify on-shelf noticeability, holding power of your products, pack’s visual appeal, and persuasiveness and improve accordingly!

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