PepsiCo taps Jennifer Lee as marketing lead for beverage portfolio

PepsiCo has named Jennifer Lee the marketing manager for its total beverage portfolio and she will be leading the beverages marketing function for its MAPS/Asia business, which includes Malaysia, Singapore, Mongolia, Brunei and Pacific Island.

Lee (pictured) will be responsible for turning the company’s business objectives into marketing strategies that drive revenue and growth. According to the company, her in-depth marketing knowledge and product skillset will enable it to accelerate the plans for rapid growth. Lee has previously held managerial roles and having been a management trainee in Philip Morris, the company said Lee "is well-placed to help PepsiCo continue its growth in all areas".

Lee told MARKETING-INTERACTIVE that she will report to Asia Pacific senior marketing director, Salman Butt. She added that she will be leading the entire marketing function, both ATL and BTL, for the beverage portfolio, and is also responsible for the overall strategy, brand positioning and communication of PepsiCo brands. The role was previously held by Putri Shireen.

During the third quarter of 2020, PepsiCo saw a net revenue growth of 5.3% while its reported earnings per share increased 10%. Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said the results reflect the continued strength of its global snacks and food business and a significant improvement in its global beverage business.

Separately in July, PepsiCo's chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta said during an earnings call that it has become "a bit more selective" about the type of advertising and marketing that it is doing. According to him, it is stopping activities with lower return on investment (ROI) and putting more money against the initiatives that had more ROI.

The reduction in non-essential advertising and marketing spend comes as the company aims to mitigate challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as disruptions due to retail closures and higher labour, personal protective equipment, logistics and service costs.

Laguarta also explained that "sometimes a crisis helps" to be more selective and to be more impactful and to generate internal momentum against simplification, and against focus - against fewer and bigger. For the remainder of 2020, Laguarta said:

PepsiCo will continue to invest in advertising and marketing as it sees consumers moving around and demand for its products start to increase. 

"Obviously, balance of the year, we continue to invest as we see the consumers moving around and demand for our products starting to be a bit higher. We'll keep investing and, again, not trying to lose that focus on fewer and bigger and trying to minimize the lower ROI initiatives that sometimes we have in what is a very large business," he said.

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