Industry Shifts and Strategic Moves
The beverage industry continues to evolve as PepsiCo appoints a new U.S. beverages CMO to navigate shifting consumer preferences and market challenges. Meanwhile, Heineken leverages AI-driven strategies to enhance below-the-line marketing effectiveness. In the automotive sector, despite looming tariffs, Chinese car brands remain poised to disrupt the U.S. market, signaling a dynamic shift in global competition.
PepsiCo names new US beverages CMO amid soda category disruption
PepsiCo named Mark Kirkham as CMO of U.S. beverages, effective April 7, per details shared with Marketing Dive. The unit houses brands including Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Bubly, Starry and Gatorade. Kirkham, who has over 14 years of experience at the company, takes over the role from longtime marketing chief Greg Lyons, who is leaving PepsiCo to pursue an external opportunity.
Kirkham in October became senior vice president of sparkling beverages for PepsiCo North America, a move that saw him return to the U.S. after overseeing international beverages for the CPG giant. Lyons had served as CMO of the sprawling U.S. beverages group since 2018, an impressive run for a C-suite spot that is prone to churn. Former Pepsi CMO Todd Kaplan, another longtime PepsiCo executive, left the company last June for Kraft Heinz.
“Mark is a multi-disciplined marketer and creative storyteller with deep, global experience in the beverage business. He led the step-changed international approach to accelerating zero sugar and expanding our portfolio to address the needs of evolving consumers,” said Ram Krishnan, CEO of PepsiCo Beverages U.S., in a statement around the promotion. “In working with Mark over the years, I’ve been impressed by his imaginative approach to scalable problem solving; he is well-poised to take on this role and lead us into the next chapter of innovation and growth.”
PepsiCo in the announcement highlighted several of Kirkham’s past wins, such as leading a well-received rebrand for Pepsi in international markets and an iteration of the soft drink’s famous Pepsi Challenge campaign centered on its zero-sugar offering. Kirkham’s bona fides in the better-for-you arena speak to where PepsiCo’s strategic focus is shifting.
The company earlier this month acquired prebiotic soda brand Poppi for nearly $2 billion, teeing up another battle in the soda wars saga as chief rival Coca-Cola also dips its toes into a category that is winning favor with key Gen Z and millennial consumers. Prebiotic sodas, which promote benefits to gut health and also encompass disruptor brands like Olipop, make up a market that is estimated to reach $3.5 billion in value by 2032. How Poppi will be handled on the marketing front likely won’t be clear until the closing of the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approval.PepsiCo switching up marketing leadership for one of its flagship divisions comes at a challenging juncture. Like many in the food and beverage industry, the marketer is grappling with more price-conscious shoppers and ongoing global uncertainty. Demand for its snacks and beverages again dropped in North America in Q4 2024, though organic revenue climbed 2.1% for the end-of-year period.
Other changes of late at PepsiCo beverages include a visual refresh and repositioning for Mountain Dew that has seen the soda embrace what executives call “energizing refreshment” and ramp up marketing around a new brand character, the Mountain Dude.
Heineken taps WPP’s AI muscle to strengthen below-the-line marketing
WPP is deepening its ties to Heineken, with a focus on leveraging its AI muscle to enhance shopper marketing and e-commerce activities for the global brewer. The account, based out of WPP’s Amsterdam Campus, covers products including the core Heineken line, nonalcoholic Heineken 0.0 and light lager Heineken Silver.
The relationship will lean heavily on WPP Open, which has received a hefty amount of investment from the agency network as it looks to keep pace in an emerging tech arms race among marketing services providers. WPP Open has integrated technology from leading generative AI developers, including Anthropic, OpenAI and Google Gemini. Other CPGs have recently touted scalable use cases for AI, such as creating “digital twins” of products that can cut down production time and costs and simplify cross-channel marketing.
Heineken already works with WPP shops like Ogilvy and Design Bridge and Partners, the latter of which assisted with the brand’s 150-year anniversary campaign in 2023.
“We were impressed by WPP’s deep capabilities in shopper marketing, including their ability to drive higher efficiencies through WPP Open, underpinned by advanced AI,” said Rutger van der Stegen, global head of below-the-line marketing at the Heineken brand, in a statement around the news.
The expanded WPP work comes at a time of fast change for the beer industry. Consumers increasingly are flocking to zero-alcohol or better-for-you options, when they’re opting for beer at all. Delivery platforms have made e-commerce a more viable sales channel, but one where alcohol brands face tighter restrictions than other CPGs on the advertising front. WPP will also get to assist Heineken as it strategizes around leading sponsorships, including deals with red-hot F1, the Champions League and live music events.
At the same time, beer is subject to fierce headwinds amid a mounting trade war. U.S. President Donald Trump’s threats to impose steep tariffs on European alcohol could roil the category, which is also contending with higher duties on crucial manufacturing materials like aluminum.
Still, the news marks a win for WPP amid a challenging period. The group earlier this month lost the North American media and data business for The Coca-Cola Company to rival Publicis Groupe, a major blow. WPP reported that like-for-like revenue less pass-through costs, its main measure of organic growth, slid 2.3% in Q4 2024 while declining 1% in the full year. The firm expects 2025 revenue to land somewhere in the range of being flat to down 2% as macroeconomic uncertainty intensifies.Heineken has named WPP as global agency partner for shopper marketing and commerce across its beer portfolio, according to a press release. VML Amsterdam, based near the Dutch brewer’s headquarters, will lead the account team. The work encompasses below-the-line marketing, including in-bar, retail and e-commerce activities, as well as shopping integrations around Heineken sponsorships such as Formula 1 and the UEFA Champions League.
WPP Open, the ad-holding group’s artificial intelligence-powered operating system, will play a key role in supporting those functions. The appointment expands the brand’s existing relationship with WPP, which is pushing for a return to growth.
Left Field Labs’s Yann Caloghiris explores how, despite the potential tariffs, Chinese car brands could take pole position in the US.
Chinese manufacturers were building derivative ‘econoboxes’ destined for emerging markets with all the desirability of white goods. At the same time, at Left Field Labs, we were helping Toyota and Ford develop software-first experiences for their first ground-up EVs; our work for the Ford Mach-e won the coveted JD power award at launch.Twelve years on, Musk’s remark appears to be an IBM moment of misjudgment.
BYD now churns out more electric vehicles annually than Tesla, and China has zoomed quietly past Germany and Japan to become the world’s leading car exporter, with 4.7m vehicles exported last year alone.
This sets up an intriguing prospect: Chinese cars knocking on America’s garage doors. Tariffs aside [we explore those here today], history provides a cautionary roadmap. Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, and Kia each endured years of incremental improvements, gradually transforming consumer ridicule into enduring trust and brand loyalty.China’s entry into Western markets could rewrite the script altogether. Unlike earlier foreign competitors, today’s Chinese brands arrive armed with sleek designs, compelling technology, and mature build quality. BYD’s Seal sedan, for instance, now available in Europe, has won over car critics with its competitive range, sophisticated looks, and category-leading tech.
If this is China’s first salvo, American automakers should brace for impact.Strategic pricing adds urgency to this competitive threat. BYD’s Atto 3 electric SUV, priced around $38,000, comfortably undercuts Tesla’s comparable Model Y by over ten grand. Even more impressively, BYD’s battery technology addresses the notorious “range anxiety” by enabling a 250-mile journey after just a five-minute charge, about the time that it takes to grab your morning latte (which, incidentally, Starbuck’s own data suggests three to five minutes).
If American manufacturers want to stay competitive, they’ll need a remedy for covering this delta – without shifting the costs to inflation-afeared consumers.Price and performance aren’t the only ingredients in the Chinese recipe for success. There’s an unmistakable flair in their designs that can no longer be called an ‘hommage’ or downright copy of a European or American competitor.
The Atto 3 boasts its own unique quirky details, from guitar-string-inspired door panels to a gear-selector resembling a rocket launch button. Similarly daring is Xiaomi’s SU7 Max, capable of hitting 60 mph in under three seconds, while also offering a nearly 500-mile range and deep integration into Xiaomi’s tech ecosystem—enough to make Ford CEO Jim Farley publicly admit he’s “been driving it for six months now, and don’t want to give it up.”
Even in the premium arena, Chinese innovation flexes. BYD’s Yangwang U8 SUV has a “tank-turn” feature allowing it to rotate in place and includes a fully amphibious flotation mode in a nod to the Cybertruck’s overblown ‘wade mode’.Add a built-in drone from DJI for aerial photography of your road trip, and it’s clear these aren’t merely gimmicks but calculated plays targeting tech-savvy Western tastes.
Unlike their Japanese and Korean competitors before them, Chinese brands benefit from minimal baggage and significant branding agility. By reviving storied names such as MG under SAIC’s stewardship and leveraging Volvo’s premium credibility under Geely, these companies can shortcut decades of painstaking brand-building. Meanwhile, fresh entrants like NIO, and subbrands ONVO, and FIREFLY possess the freedom to define their identities from scratch, neatly sidestepping legacy complications.
Perhaps the most revolutionary front, however, is autonomous driving, an area also ripe for Chinese competition. Goldman Sachs forecasts that by 2040, an astonishing 90% of vehicles sold in China will boast Level three, or higher autonomous capabilities, substantially ahead of America’s projected 65%. Already, China’s roads host over 2,300 robotaxis, dwarfing Waymo’s modest fleet of around 700 vehicles cautiously navigating a few US cities.
Hints of China’s automotive potential in the US already pepper British and Australian streets. BYD’s showroom now rubs shoulders with Rolls-Royce on London’s swanky Berkeley Square, signaling a confidence bordering on sheer audacity. Rolls-Royce has occupied this prime real estate since 1932; BYD’s recent arrival suggests it is comfortable in a distinguished company. Down under, almost 80% of all EVs sold in the first three months of 2024 were made in China.
