• Ad Age, Thursday, April 15, 2010 10:45 AM

PepsiCo's SoBe brand team, looking to attract 18- to 29-year-old consumers with content rather than advertising, is using a "workshop" model with its three agencies, with each expected to contribute ideas outside of its usual expertise, Natalie Zmuda reports. What's missing from the equation is a traditional "creative" agency.

The shops involved are digital agency-of-record Firstborn, public relations agency-of-record Weber Shandwick and TracyLocke, which has long handled promotion. Two new TV spots, one produced by Firstborn and the other by outside agency Southpaw, build on footage from a print shoot that was first used online.

"We're not tied to the old methods," says Angelique Krembs, director-marketing for SoBe. "The process might seem more chaotic, but there's opportunity to improve [the marketing program], because you keep workshopping it. It's not, 'Here's [a brief] go out and make it.'"

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