For the first time in almost a decade, iconic soft drink brand 7UP has given its brand identity an extensive top-down refresh.
Having long ago thrown away its ‘Fido Dido’-shaped shackles, the brand has focused on modernising its image in recent years, part of its ongoing efforts to connect more closely with the vast spending power of Millennials and Gen Z.
The marketing boffins over at PepsiCo have settled on comedy as a key driver for the brand’s latest visual iteration, communicating a ‘zest’ for life which manifests itself in ‘moments of UPliftment’. They will no doubt be hoping to strike some sort of subliminal chord in consumers’ minds between the refreshing, summery taste of the beverage and its new positive, happy-go-lucky positioning.
Speaking to 7UP’s vice-president of global brand marketing, Eric Melis about the campaign’s worldwide roll-out, it quickly becomes clear just how big a deal this brand update really is.
At the heart of any established brand success lies a loyal fan base. As such, Melis is at pains to point out that although 7UP has unveiled a root-and-branch visual reform, it is also “staying true to the brand’s essence and relevant to its audience”.
With these non-negotiable directional drivers for the campaign in mind – and targeting a core audience of Gen Z and Millennials – a comedy-based platform was always a safe bet for 7UP.
“We wanted specifically to connect with people who are seeing life through the lens of optimism,” says Melis says, outlining why the latest creative is unashamedly tailored towards those core target demographics.
“We wanted to dial-up on distinction and modernity, with a real focus on refreshment as one of our key iconic attributes.”
In its vibrant new skin, 7UP is embarking on a renewed pursuit of young, positive individuals who are looking to identify with a like-minded brand, with the ‘moments of UPliftment’ platform set to become a key distinction driver.
“We’re seeing a lot of engagement through thematic platforms, with taste and refreshment as key identifiable rallying points for our brand,” he adds.
Supported by an integrated global push, the campaign is bringing together a diverse range of media activations to reach as diverse an audience as possible.
Melis stresses that the team has intentionally chosen not “to target one particular type of media”, but is instead looking to connect with audiences spontaneously, through “whichever medium they prefer to consume”, favouring a more mobile, adaptable strategy.
First launched in 1929, the 7UP brand enjoys an enormous worldwide legacy – as would most brands approaching their hundredth birthday.
This heritage has enabled the brand to grow into PepsiCo’s second biggest beverage in most global markets – astonishingly Melis points out the brand enjoys greater market share than Pepsi, across some African and Middle Eastern markets”.
He continues: “It’s definitely a very, very important brand, not just for the size that it brings to the business, but for the equity, strength, credibility and acceptance that it brings to the portfolio.”
In an increasingly competitive space, the new campaign is designed above all to help the brand “continue gaining momentum and market share”, but also to win the hearts of consumers through ultra-relevant positioning.
Keeping consumers at the heart of any campaign is central for marketers like Melis, who believe that a brand’s ability to connect with its consumers is paramount to its success.
“Being a very consumer-centric marketeer and leading a very consumer-centric team has been very encouraging for this campaign, and we feel very confident that what we’re doing is the right thing to do because of the great reaction we’ve already been getting internally.”
Clearly excited about the brand’s future, Melis says: “the visual revamp is definitely just the beginning”, with a lot more in the pipeline, including a renewed global focus on its low-sugar proposition, 7UP Zero Sugar.
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With the growing importance of low and sugar-free products across global markets, Melis and his team have chosen to react to this societal shift by putting 7UP’s Zero Sugar alternative at the front and centre of this campaign – enjoying an equal share of the limelight than its original counterpart.
He adds that this strategic change in the brand’s positioning “goes beyond 7UP” and is valid for “all the brands in the [PepsiCo] portfolio”, stating that they are openly looking to harness the “permissible indulgence” mindset present in an increasingly health-conscious marketplace.
The reduction in customer’s sugar intake is evident “not just across 7UP, but across all our portfolio”, he says – hence why the brand chose to launch 7UP Zero Sugar in seven new markets last year alone.
Melis adds that promoting low-sugar products will be something that PepsiCo will increasingly focus on, and that for now at least they are “very, very encouraged with 7UP Zero Sugar’s performance.”
It is in this adaptability and flexibility that lies the key to 7UP’s continuing success – after all, it is no mean feat for a brand to remain globally relevant well beyond its 90th year.
In Melis, PepsiCo has found a staunch brand guardian. Having worked with 7UP in various guises for over 20 years, he is ideally placed to oversee its continuing evolution.
So, after seven long years the brand has finally chosen to take a big aesthetic plunge by diving head-first into this colourful, vibrant and apparently, comedic, new brand identity. Will it secure 7UP’s enduring success over the next decade? We’ll just have to wait and see.
