For the thousands of Nigerians who were lucky to be at the Lekki Tollgate on August 11 2017, when Pepsi activated the No Shakin’ Carry Go campaign, the experience of that day will probably live with them for a long time.
Indeed there was no better place to be in Lagos as Pepsi invaded the popular tollgate to create a marketing storm that was as memorable as it was exciting. For one whole hour on that faithful day, Pepsi locked down the tollgate, creating a No Shakin’ Carry Go experience for consumers.
A couple of weeks before, Pepsi had announced that the Pepsi 50cl plastic bottle was back at N100 with the #NoShakinCarryGo campaign (in Lagos and Ibadan). And so the activation at Lekki tollgate was to drive home the message.
In what felt like a Christmas day bonanza, consumers who drove by between 5 and 6pm on that day, were pleasantly surprised as they enjoyed a rare toll free passage, along with chilled 50cl plastic bottles of Pepsi.
According to the brand, when people’s fare got paid, Pepsi meant No shaking for price and when they got their refreshing bottle of Pepsi, Pepsi meant carry go with all that cool refreshment at a cool size of 50cl and at an even cooler price of N100. Of course thousands of excited consumers took to the social media to share their experience.
The no shakin carry go campaign is another exceptional marketing idea from Insight Publicis and it reflects agency’s tradition of consistently creating campaigns that are not just witty but also resonate with the culture and expectations of the Nigerian consumers.
“Our message was crystal clear; to stay positive and keep on being true to the Nigerian spirit as this is how you can succeed both individually and collectively. As a can-do nation, this message was quickly embraced and adopted,” Sinmisola Hughes-Obisesan, Creative Director at Insight Publicis explained.
She added that the concept was intent on provoking a marketing ‘Tsunami’. “We were the first agency to make a digital storm with the Long Throat campaign and so we looked again to how we could create another campaign that would create another big tsunami. We thought of high traffic congestion points and that’s when the Eureka moment arrived. As the toll hadn’t been done properly before, it was only a question of how to make it work. The rest is history.”
The need to create an out-of-this-world campaign could not have been lost on the agency, because the rivalry between the cola brands in Nigeria has become legendary. And the competition has been heated up in the last couple of years as new brands join the fray in a scramble for the hearts and minds of the consumers, whose purchasing power have been squeezed by the economic downturn.
Pepsi has continued to drive the new campaign with an efficient use of digital platforms and its ambassadors as well as creating a number of marketing touch points through sports and music sponsorship to sustain the engagement and emotional connection with consumers.
Pepsi also had a clever plan for the festive season and simply owned the festive period. Its strategic sponsorship of major music events gave the brand a huge equity advantage over its competitors. The fun began with the No shakin Carry go 2 Dubai concerts, where 10 Nigerian consumers enjoyed an all-expense-paid trip to watch Wizkid, Davido, Tiwa Savage and Techno perform at the One Africa Music Festival in Dubai. It was also No shakin’ carry go throughout ‘Disembaa’ with the brand’s sponsorship of a series of major concerts headlined by Wizkid and Davido.
2018 is sure to see another phenomenal year of Pepsi winning campaigns led by the Creative force at Insight Publicis.
