So, let’s say you hear that message today. They say, “Pepsi is a great drink for these first few days of spring.” You hear it, smile, nod your head, and maybe buy some Pepsi.

Then what?

Now it’s a few weeks later. They want more sales. They might say, “We know you like Pepsi. Do you also want to try Vanilla Pepsi?”

Then what?

If Pepsi (and when I say Pepsi, I mean any brand) is trying to share its message with you, the question becomes this: how much of it is important and how much of it is small talk? How much of it is a reminder? What parts of the message are just pings to remind you that you should pick Pepsi over some other brand?

Is that how we buy things? I’m not sure we decide on soda pop that way. I think we settle into a brand and prefer that brand over others. But let’s stick with this a while longer.

If you’re Pepsi and you want to sell more, what other options do you have besides reminding people of your brand all the time? And if that’s what you have to do, how do you do it such that it’s not repetitive? And if you stopped reminding people about the brand, wouldn’t sales just drop?

One way to share that experience without being overpowering is to brand an experience. Pepsico did this with their Podcast Playground (disclosure: I was paid to make media at that event) at SXSW in Austin. They didn’t push or force or overpower. In fact, they were really eager to keep things slanted towards enabling others to make media. It was a kind of experience marketing.

My question, as is my question with most social media efforts: how do you know whether it sells soda pop or not?

What do you think about this? There’s a small talk to brands, some sense of ambient noise that happens. Is it important? When is it positive? What works and what doesn’t, in your mind?

What’s social media’s place in the small talk of these brands?

There’s a context, a design, a sense of style that needs constant updating, and it’s a lot like paying dues. As companies stay current and intend to work with contemporary customers, their typography and colors and the like have to stay recent and fashionable (in most cases). We want to feel that a brand fits our time, lives in our moment, is something related to us.

Even “timeless” brands evolve their logos.

We can argue that looks don’t make the can. We can say that it’s the experience that matters, that what’s inside is what counts, but when we see logos or styles that seem old fashioned, they do stick out in our head.

Lower-case seems to be hot these days:

But that’s okay, too. Again, it’s like being sure to wear the current clothes. Several companies keep their designs current. We don’t ding them for it.

I think they had to do it. Was the fanfare necessary? I don’t know, but if you’re going to spend a lot of money tidying up your brand, how much more is it to get the word out there.

Some thoughts from the couch as I look at the side of a shiny new Pepsi can.

I think this is phase one of something. But what’s interesting to me is that they reached out to me as one of 25 people to get this news. They presumed (correctly) that I’d blog about it. They figured I’d say something one way or the other.

Pepsi doesn’t get an A plus for this effort, but they get an A (updated since I re-read the part about FriendFeed: see below). I’m pleased that they’re trying. Would they have tried blogger outreach a few years ago? Would they have tried without Bonin in place? Not sure. Doubt it.

**UPDATE: I missed the bottom of the letter in my post where it shows off the new Pepsi Cooler room on FriendFeed. That’s about as two way as you can get, and also fringe cool to boot. Good on you, Pepsi.

**UPDATE 2 (2PM): It looks like the Natives at FriendFeed are getting restless. If I’m Pepsi, I’d better think about this a bit, too.

By the way, the soda still tastes the same, in case you’re curious.