The Diet Pepsi strategy was to build brand values of sassiness, confidence and attitude, and to convert consumers to the new taste of Diet Pepsi. In an atmosphere representative of the brand lifestyle.

The Diet Pepsi/Cosmopolitan catwalk at the Cosmopolitan Show aimed to associate the brand with women’s interests: fashion, beauty, health, charities and a better lifestyle.

The catwalk, which was the main focus of the five-day Cosmopolitan Show, was targeted at the 50,000 young, confident, intelligent and independent women visitors, it was marketed through promotions in Jeffrey Rogers outlets, a competition in the Daily Express and PR exposure generated by the "Face of Diet Pepsi", Saffron from pop group Republica. Saffron, who also opened the catwalk show, was chosen for her confident and sassy image.

Visitors who queued to enter the show were given a can of Diet Pepsi and asked to design a branded dress on Diet Pepsi drawing palettes. This allowed them to interact directly with the brand and reinforced its values.

The winning dresses were then created by designer Jean Yves Aubin from coloured binbags in 20 minutes and modelled on the catwalk at the end of the show. Prizes were linked to promotional partners such as retailer Jeffrey Rogers and hairdresser Daniel Field, reinforcing the Diet Pepsi brand through association with brands of similar characters.

The show opened with a five-minute Diet Pepsi Floor Show to set the tone. Designer branded bags were given away to all visitors and Diet Pepsi/Jeffrey Rogers T-shirts in trendy silver tins were sold from the Jeffrey Rogers, JK Brain Tumour and First Step centre stands, with £1 donated to charities for every sale.

The catwalk show attracted up to 2,000 visitors seven times a day, of whom 96% rated it as "excellent" and more than 75% recalled Pepsi as the sponsor. More than 45,000 visitors sampled Diet Pepsi and 93,000 drawings were judged for the competition. Thirty visitors won more than £200 worth of prizes for their Diet Pepsi dress designs.

Written by Charlotte Goddard (Journalist)
Marketing Event Magazine