Mirinda: Release the pressure

Drinks brand Mirinda (part of PepsiCo) helped achieve behavioural change by starting a debate
and drawing consumer attention to the issue of exam pressure experienced by Indian teenagers.

Teens found it difficult to discuss their anxiety and fears, with a number of pupils
committing suicide.
Mirinda's 'No More Pressure panti, Only Pagalpanti' campaign aimed to reach out to
teenagers and their parents with a message of support.
The brand's communications strategy involved PR efforts, online marketing, Facebook Live
chats with mental health professionals, open letters from teens, blog posts and a digital film.
The campaign not only sparked many thought-provoking conversations but also
received coverage in some of the leading Indian publications and increased the
numbers of Mirinda's followers on YouTube and Instagram.

Campaign details

Advertiser: Pepsico
Brand: Mirinda
Agency: Edelman India
Country: India

Situation analysis

Exam pressure can sometimes seem like a real tangle for many teenagers. Year after year, teens go through
the ever-mounting exam stress, stemmed from college admissions, rising expectations and fierce
competition. While it has become imperative to maintain a support network with parents and teachers, it is
shocking to note that teenagers still found it difficult to cope or even discuss their anxiety and fears at
home. In several instances like
this, penning down thoughts and concerns works where verbal communication becomes a challenge.

Hence, this year, Mirinda, a brand which is renowned for its fun attitude, lent its voice to the issue but in
an unusual manner. With its "No More Pressurepanti, Only Pagalpanti" campaign, it opened and even
shocked, at times, parents and teenagers with the 'real' sentiments of 'real' teens penned down in open
letters.

To raise awareness, we wanted to stir a debate and draw consumer attention to the issue of exam pressures,
so we crafted an integrated, earned consumer-centric communications strategy. The biggest challenge was
to get the campaign adequately covered by consumer press, in addition to advertising and marketing
media.

Campaign objectives

The campaign had a focused agenda – to move parents and teenagers by activating conversations around
the pressures teenagers face during exam time. Mirinda wanted to play the role of a catalyst in driving
behavioral change amongst consumers in an open and transparent manner.

.
 Research and insight

 Several instances of student suicides have been reported by media, raising alarms not just
among the media but also with the Prime Minister. PM Modi's first 'Mann Ki Baat' of the year,
addressed the issue of parental pressure and encouraged parents to create an encouraging
environment for their teenagers during exam time.

 Before arriving on the campaign, Mirinda met teenagers across Jaipur, Delhi, Madurai and
spoke to them about the various stress points they face in their lives, through focused group
discussions, with pressure during exams being rated the highestBefore kicking off the
campaign, Mirinda reached out to teenagers encouraging them to write open letters. 400 letters
were received nationally and all of them cited exam pressure as a common issue. This
reinforced the brand's agenda to mobilize conversations around exam pressure faced by
teenagers.

Target audience and analysis

Mirinda's 'No More Pressurepanti, Only Pagalpanti' campaign aimed to reach out to teenagers and their
parents during the different phases of the campaign.

Strategy, creativity and originality

Our campaign was creatively structured to strike a chord with our target audience. Beginning with creating
awareness around the topic, prompting engagement and ultimately driving behavioral change in the
During the first phase, we reckoned that to connect with teenagers, we had to be present in media outlets
popular amongst them. Our approach, in turn, was to kick off the campaign with digital born media outlets.

To connect with parents, we used credible voices strategically to mobilize conversations and drive
awareness. We also strengthened our consumers' connect with the campaign, through a strong call to action
to 'Release the Pressure', thereby triggering change at an individual level.

Execution and tactics

Media led tactics

We strategically identified highly popular digital born media outlets like IndiaTimes, BuzzFeed, Mashable,
India Today Online and Quint to drive organic conversations and secure earned coverage before the paid
plans rolled out.

We exclusively co-released the #ReleaseThePressure film with them on the day of the launch to
witness a multiplier effect across their social media platforms and thereby, giving the campaign an
opening 39 million impressions across websites and social media.
Influencer led tactics

We identified young author, Zuni Chopra, daughter of influential movie critic Anupama Chopra and film
director Vidhu Vinod Chopra, to pen down a riveting poem on exam pressure. Zuni Chopra, having just
given her board exams, resonated brilliantly with the campaign. To further steer the campaign in
consumer press, we organized interviews with Zuni in mainline press and shared the poem with the
media, resulting in the campaign's massive coverage in consumer media such as The Indian Express,
MidDay, Zoom TV. The effort resulted in a total of 6 million impressions.

We also leveraged celebrity influencers, who were brought on board by Mirinda, to create awareness
about the issue and inspire people to take the pledge to 'Release the Pressure'. We amplified their social
media posts in the press through a press note, which was shared with the media.

Community led tactics

We know that mommy bloggers have a resonating voice amongst our target audience and to enlighten
them on the topic, we collaborated with a popular mother bloggers platform – MyCity4Kids to engage
them in an interactive panel discussion and a session on exam pressure. On the panel, we had renowned
psychologists from Fortis Healthcare, who engaged our bloggers in a meaningful discussion on the
pressures teenagers face, during exams. The mommy bloggers reached out to a wider audience through
their blogs and social media, driving our message to farther nooks and encouraging their readers to take
the pledge to 'Release the Pressure'.

.
Going beyond the brief, to provide surround sound to the campaign, we involved consumers to join the
cause and encouraged them to take the pledge to 'Release the Pressure,' through a series of strategic
partnerships. Fortis Healthcare has a nationwide program on mental well-being of teenagers, which we
identified as a strong like-minded partnership. Through a Facebook Live Chat on Mirinda's Facebook
page with experts in the field of psychology from Fortis Healthcare, we could drive a vital conversation,
directly with consumers and encourage people to take the pledge to 'Release the Pressure'.

11 million bottles of Mirinda featured open letters written by teenagers which was leveraged in the
media to drive positive conversationsEvaluation Of success/measurement

This was a milestone campaign for the brand and we were extensively covered by leading publications
such as The Economic Times – Brand Equity who ranked us as #1 on the Ads leaders board, content
websites such as Mashable, BuzzFeed, IndiaTimes, The Quint, IndiaToday.in, who published our
initiative editorially and even promoted our campaign on social media.

1.5 million pledges made

871 million impressions
19,500 social media
Total coverage: 197 (Online 191, Print 6)

Social media outcome

72 organic posts, (Facebook – 52 and Twitter – 20)

4766% increase in YouTube subscribers
1112% increase in Instagram followers
Digital film:
Total Views: 35Million in 3 weeks
200K shares on the YouTube video
111 million impressions
Campaign impact

Consumer sentiments: 99% positive commentary across platforms vs 52% pre-campaign –consumers
have resonated and appreciated Mirinda for bringing forth this issue.
20k+ missed calls to pledge to release the pressure, received from labels on pack.
2.5k pledges received from modern trade activation.
Through our strategic partnerships like the Facebook Live chat with Fortis Healthcare and
MyCityForKids, we saw thought-provoking interactions with consumers, who actively participated
in the debate through comments on the post. Levering brand partnerships with popular folk-rock
band Swarathma, we were also able to generate large format stories in consumer publications around
our initiative. 'ReleaseThePressure' became common parlance, with topical articles around exam
pressure.

Endorsement

"Mirinda's 'No More Pressurepanti, Only Pagalpanti' campaign has really struck a chord with
many people. What began with the simple idea of us wanting to speak about an issue that affects
our consumers, took the shape of a social movement of sorts and helped in a positive behavioral
shift. In addition to starting a dialogue on the issue, it was important to start a debate and get
people to take notice of the issue. The success of the campaign lies in the agency's powerful
strategies, flawless management and timely execution. Their careful planning and continuous
delivery of a clear stream of communication meant that Mirinda's message was amplified among
the right people at the right time on the platforms relevant to them, in a way that created
maximum impact."

Vipul Prakash, Senior Vice-President, Beverages, PepsiCo India