Dear Pepsi: Do What Rock Does
Dynasties Fall, Champions Get Back Up
Dr. Pepper is the new Pepsi, literally and figuratively.
There sure is a lot of noise about Cracker Barrel, but there’s a more profound brand story unfolding.
Ask people to name the #2 soft drink brand in America, and Pepsi would be the runaway winner. Wrong.
For Decades, Pepsi was Coke’s runner-up. Then, headlines said Pepsi slipped to #3. Days later, deeper data tells a more ominous story — Pepsi sits at #4, behind Dr. Pepper and Sprite (another Coca-Cola brand).
For many, this is “who-cares” news. For strategy nerds like me, it’s case-study stuff.
- Who’s getting fired? Should they get fired?
- What happened? How’d it happen?
- Did Pepsi get quiet? Did Dr. Pepper get smarter?
Champions Get Knocked Down
Deep breath. It’s inevitable — champions get knocked down.
- Ali hit the mat.
- The Patriots lost perfection.
- Radio titans aren’t always #1 – The Men’s Room and Stern have been bruised, X96 and KUPD have stumbled, 91X and WJJO know ups and downs.
But champions get up and back into the fight.
Coca-Cola won’t lose its #1 crown any time soon, but Pepsi is an all-time champion brand.
Will they bounce back and keep that title for generations to come?
Why Pepsi’s Fall Matters
After such a long, consistent run in what has historically been a steady and predictable category, a two-rank drop probably isn’t just bad luck or because a few trucks didn’t make their shipments.
There’s more to it.
It’s not my case to solve, and unless someone’s sending me a check, I’m not offering ideas. (For the record, they don’t include putting Sydney Sweeney in an ad.) I don’t, though, expect a wild knee-jerk from Pepsi — like we’ve unfortunately seen at Radio over the past few decades.
A down quarter and an entire department can be on the hot seat.
In Rock Radio, it’s not uncommon to go from first to third, second to sixth, back to first or second. Movements are triggered by many things — panel churn, brand pivots, personnel change, music slumps, new competition, and marketplace conditions.
Rock Radio’s Playbook
Pepsi may treat this as a short-term slip, but there’s no guarantee. The trendline suggests otherwise. To get back on the mantle of title contender, the brand needs to find its inner Rock Roots and remind itself what it was like to be dangerous.
To be the challenger no one wants to face.
Rock has swagger, edge and fight. Walk into any cluster of multi-format brands and you’ll feel it. Even the AC folks and spreadsheet bandits want to hang out in the “Rock corner.”
In our RockTernative galaxy, when a brand gets punched in the face, what happens?
Whether it’s WRIF or Axl Rose, Rock doesn’t stay down. It gets up, fights back, and does whatever it takes.
- Regroup
- Reload
- Return fire
That can mean anything from doing data dives on research, micro-targeting, library tweaks, modifying clocks, personnel moves, marketing, etc. Sometimes, uncontrollable marketplace or Nielsen factors suggest holding steady — but doing nothing is rarely the answer. Even simple actions like sharpening focus or officially letting the troops know the fight just got more serious count as doing something.
Lessons for Pepsi
Leading and bounce-backs are not done with guesswork. The point is to reassess and determine why you got smacked.
- Self-inflicted laziness and mistakes?
- Cutting budget?
- Out-marketed?
- New threats?
- Uncontrollable outside factors?
I don’t know the “whys” of Pepsi, but at least for now, Dr. Pepper is the new Pepsi, literally and figuratively.
Pepsi doesn’t need a pumpkin-spice soda or a new dose of weird. They need to remember what it felt like to be Dr. Pepper — the underdog, scrappy, hungry, and dangerous.
Falling to #3 or #4 isn’t the problem. Staying there is.
Whether RockTernative or Soda, real champions get up, answer the bell, and win the next round.
Cheers!
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Keith Cunningham is a music industry and Rock/Alternative columnist for Barrett Media and the founder of Black Box Group, a modern-modeled creative & strategic consultancy built for brands that need strategies with teeth. He’s the former Master of Mayhem at 95.5 KLOS-FM in Los Angeles for over a decade, a nationwide consultant, and has been repeatedly voted one of America’s top Program Directors and strategic thinkers. Keith has built his career by taking multi-million-dollar brands from worst to first and leading Marconi & Gracie award winners along the way. A data nerd with a rock-and-roll heart, he is an advisory council member for St. Jude fundraising, a fantasy football champion, and lover of his daughters & dogs. Reach him at keithblackboxgroup@gmail.com or on LinkedIn or X.
