FDBusiness.com

PepsiCo has announced an open call for digital entrepreneurs across Europe to apply to take part in ‘PepsiCo10’, an innovation incubator program designed to discover and support emerging technology companies whose ideas and solutions can be applied to drive business value for the global soft drinks and snacks group.

Launched successfully in the United States last June, PepsiCo has now expanded PepsiCo10 to Europe. The goal of the PepsiCo10 Europe program is to identify up to 10 of the most promising companies and give them the opportunity to work with PepsiCo in the UK to deliver pilots of their technologies, whilst receiving the support and guidance from industry-leading mentors.

PepsiCo is looking to identify businesses with ‘ready-to-go’ technologies across five categories; social media; mobile marketing; place based technology; digital video; and gaming or learning platforms. Highland Capital Partners, OMD and Weber Shandwick will continue to serve as advisors to PepsiCo throughout the program.

Selected applicants will undergo a series of rigorous assessments, and a subset will be invited to participate in a second round and submit video presentations, which will be judged by senior brand representatives from PepsiCo brands Pepsi, Walkers, Tropicana and Quaker. Companies’ ideas and solutions will be evaluated on their potential ability to impact PepsiCo’s business and to deliver on ‘Performance with Purpose’, the company’s commitment to finding innovative ways to minimise its impact on the environment; to provide a great workplace for its associates; and to respect, support and invest in the local communities where it operates.  Prospective applicants can find out more about the program and apply online until July 15, 2011 at www.pepsico10.com.

Near completion, PepsiCo10’s pilot programs in the US have resulted in the execution of successful digital marketing activations across US brands. These winning technologies include: Tongal, a video sharing platform that is currently sourcing animation video for the Brisk Tea brand; BreakOut Band, a collaboration music platform that worked with Pepsi MAX to execute at the 2011 South by Southwest Interactive and Music conference; and Evil Genius Designs, a mobile gaming platform with which PepsiCo has worked to develop a virtual reality video game featuring products across the PepsiCo portfolio.

“There is a huge appetite amongst consumers for new and exciting social media technologies and for us as a business, digital is a dynamic and increasingly important area for innovation,” points out Ian Ellington, general manager for Walkers Crisps, one of the brands which will benefit from the PepsiCo10 technologies. “We’ve already used digital and social media to great success in our past campaigns, such as Walkers’ Do Us A Flavour campaign and we now look forward to harnessing the emerging tech and start-up landscape and cultivating the next generation of digital pioneers.”

CAPTION:

PepsiCo10 winner BreakoutBand brought an interactive music beat maker to the Pepsi MAX Lot at SXSW Interactive 2011, giving music fans a chance to mix their own beats on-site, form virtual bands and create original songs via their mobile phones.