“Pakistanis have very clear food preferences for each region”
7Up’s new campaign is based on how the love of food unifies the entire Pakistani nation.
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7up Celebrates Pakistan’s Culinary Diversity
Every year, as August 14 approaches, several brands roll out patriotic Independence Day campaigns. In this vein, 7up launched the ‘Pakistan Ka Food Scene’ campaign in August. The campaign is still running.
The 60-second campaign TVC showcases a variety of cuisines in the form of 40 to 50 dishes that are available in seven cities (Gujranwala, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Quetta and Sukkur) across Pakistan. The campaign was complemented by the introduction of specially designed cans and bottle labels highlighting distinctive facets of the cities – landmarks, musical instruments and culinary repertoire. 7up also released seven short videos on social media focused on each city.
“7up has long been associated with food, and in formulating this campaign, we aimed to further leverage that association in a new way,” says Hasan Tahir, COO, Alt Story (7up’s creative agency).
Tahir says he drew his inspiration from his travel experiences: “A few years ago, I travelled to culinary hubs in France and Italy, and although the food was excellent, there was a limited variety of dishes that were served in those countries. This made me appreciate Pakistan’s culinary diversity. As we move from north to south, the dishes, cooking techniques, and flavours vary significantly – something truly specific to Pakistan.”
“7up Pakistan Ka Food Scene is an effort to celebrate Pakistan’s diversity, traditions, art, culture, and food. The diversity that makes Pakistan different, and every Pakistani proud,” adds Rabiya Ghanchi, Senior Marketing Manager (Flavours), PepsiCo.
As the goal of the campaign was to foster a greater appreciation for Pakistan’s diverse culinary legacies, the campaign name ‘Pakistan Ka Food Scene’ was almost organic. Furthermore, given the economic climate, the belief was that even in difficulperiods,ds the one thing that lifts the spirit of most Pakistanis and keeps them going and proud of their country is their food.
In selecting which cities to represent, 7up moved away from the traditional KLI (Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad) marketing model to introduce Gen Z to the food and culture of other Pakistani cities and their inherent culinary differences. For example, a distinguishing feature of Quetta’s cuisine is the slow cooking process, referred to as “Utni hi mohabbat aur fursat se bantay hain yahan ke khaaney” (the food here is made with love and patience). In Gujranwala, the pehelwaani (wrestling) culture was showcased while in Peshawar the emphasis was on meat. The brand has used ‘projection mapping’ to highlight prominent monuments, including Chaar Minar Chowrangi in Karachi and the Khyber Pass in Peshawar.
The videos that accompanied the TVC were created by 7up’s production house – Epic Productions. According to Umar Malik, CEO, Alt Story, “Zeeshan Pervez covered the city and took lifestyle shots, while Salman Noorani ensured that every dish looked aesthetically pleasing and appetising. Attic Productions (our music partner) customised the jingle by using an instrument specific to that city.”
On TikTok, a filter was introduced to enable content creators to frame their videos. The filter, Malik says, has so far been used 10,000+ times. “The key is customisation; had it been just the brand’s name or theme, we might not have seen these huge numbers.”
According to Ghanchi, “The campaign has received a stellar response, with health indicators showing a 95%+ positive sentiment, a 3.6 times higher purchase intent, and the highest number of entries received on the cash back consumer promotion for any PepsiCo campaign.”
Referring to the specially designed cans, Malik says that marketers today employ several touchpoints when introducing a 360-degree campaign, but often overlook the packaging element, which he says, is under-utilised “although it is a touchpoint that physically ends up in the hands of the consumer.” Tahir adds that “designing the seven separate labels was a challenge, but an even bigger challenge was the production and distribution of the new cans, and everybody in the supply chain stepped up to make it possible.”
The cash-back promotion was tied into the packaging in partnership with JazzCash. A QR code on the can or the label on the bottle took consumers to the 7up website where they could play a game of Spin the Wheel and have the chance to win Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 in their JazzCash wallet. This could then be used to explore a city’s food scene by redeeming the cash at various eateries and restaurants. According to Malik, “At a time of economic uncertainty and inflation, we used the campaign to build brand equity. We feel this was a good example of a telecom and an FMCG coming together to orchestrate a promotion. We hope to see more such collaborations in the market.”
The brand also hoped to engage with Gen Z through the campaign. “Sixty-five percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30 and these young people do not have the same sense of nostalgia that the Millennials and Boomers have. So, we wanted to use 7up’s brand equity and brand love to introduce Pakistan’s culinary legacy to young people by banking on the strong connection 7up has with food,” says Malik.
Looking to the future, 7up plans to broaden the scope of the ‘Pakistan Ka Food Scene’ campaign. “We hope to cover more Pakistani cities, their unique cultures and cuisines,” concludes Tahir.
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Tahir says he drew his inspiration from his travel experiences: “A few years ago, I travelled to culinary hubs in France and Italy, and although the food was excellent, there was a limited variety of dishes that were served in those countries. This made me appreciate Pakistan’s culinary diversity. As we move from north to south, the dishes, cooking techniques, and flavours vary significantly – something truly specific to Pakistan.”
“7up Pakistan Ka Food Scene is an effort to celebrate Pakistan’s diversity, traditions, art, culture, and food. The diversity that makes Pakistan different, and every Pakistani proud,” adds Rabiya Ghanchi, Senior Marketing Manager (Flavours), PepsiCo.
As the goal of the campaign was to foster a greater appreciation for Pakistan’s diverse culinary legacies, the campaign name ‘Pakistan Ka Food Scene’ was almost organic. Furthermore, given the economic climate, the belief was that even in difficulperiods,ds the one thing that lifts the spirit of most Pakistanis and keeps them going and proud of their country is their food.
In selecting which cities to represent, 7up moved away from the traditional KLI (Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad) marketing model to introduce Gen Z to the food and culture of other Pakistani cities and their inherent culinary differences. For example, a distinguishing feature of Quetta’s cuisine is the slow cooking process, referred to as “Utni hi mohabbat aur fursat se bantay hain yahan ke khaaney” (the food here is made with love and patience). In Gujranwala, the pehelwaani (wrestling) culture was showcased while in Peshawar the emphasis was on meat. The brand has used ‘projection mapping’ to highlight prominent monuments, including Chaar Minar Chowrangi in Karachi and the Khyber Pass in Peshawar.
The videos that accompanied the TVC were created by 7up’s production house – Epic Productions. According to Umar Malik, CEO, Alt Story, “Zeeshan Pervez covered the city and took lifestyle shots, while Salman Noorani ensured that every dish looked aesthetically pleasing and appetising. Attic Productions (our music partner) customised the jingle by using an instrument specific to that city.”
On TikTok, a filter was introduced to enable content creators to frame their videos. The filter, Malik says, has so far been used 10,000+ times. “The key is customisation; had it been just the brand’s name or theme, we might not have seen these huge numbers.”
According to Ghanchi, “The campaign has received a stellar response, with health indicators showing a 95%+ positive sentiment, a 3.6 times higher purchase intent, and the highest number of entries received on the cash back consumer promotion for any PepsiCo campaign.”
Referring to the specially designed cans, Malik says that marketers today employ several touchpoints when introducing a 360-degree campaign, but often overlook the packaging element, which he says, is under-utilised “although it is a touchpoint that physically ends up in the hands of the consumer.” Tahir adds that “designing the seven separate labels was a challenge, but an even bigger challenge was the production and distribution of the new cans, and everybody in the supply chain stepped up to make it possible.”
The cash-back promotion was tied into the packaging in partnership with JazzCash. A QR code on the can or the label on the bottle took consumers to the 7up website where they could play a game of Spin the Wheel and have the chance to win Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 in their JazzCash wallet. This could then be used to explore a city’s food scene by redeeming the cash at various eateries and restaurants. According to Malik, “At a time of economic uncertainty and inflation, we used the campaign to build brand equity. We feel this was a good example of a telecom and an FMCG coming together to orchestrate a promotion. We hope to see more such collaborations in the market.”
The brand also hoped to engage with Gen Z through the campaign. “Sixty-five percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30 and these young people do not have the same sense of nostalgia that the Millennials and Boomers have. So, we wanted to use 7up’s brand equity and brand love to introduce Pakistan’s culinary legacy to young people by banking on the strong connection 7up has with food,” says Malik.
Looking to the future, 7up plans to broaden the scope of the ‘Pakistan Ka Food Scene’ campaign. “We hope to cover more Pakistani cities, their unique cultures and cuisines,” concludes Tahir.
Read Comments
Related Stories
According to Ghanchi, “The campaign has received a stellar response, with health indicators showing a 95%+ positive sentiment, a 3.6 times higher purchase intent, and the highest number of entries received on the cash back consumer promotion for any PepsiCo campaign.”
Referring to the specially designed cans, Malik says that marketers today employ several touchpoints when introducing a 360-degree campaign, but often overlook the packaging element, which he says, is under-utilised “although it is a touchpoint that physically ends up in the hands of the consumer.” Tahir adds that “designing the seven separate labels was a challenge, but an even bigger challenge was the production and distribution of the new cans, and everybody in the supply chain stepped up to make it possible.”
The cash-back promotion was tied into the packaging in partnership with JazzCash. A QR code on the can or the label on the bottle took consumers to the 7up website where they could play a game of Spin the Wheel and have the chance to win Rs 500 to Rs 10,000 in their JazzCash wallet. This could then be used to explore a city’s food scene by redeeming the cash at various eateries and restaurants. According to Malik, “At a time of economic uncertainty and inflation, we used the campaign to build brand equity. We feel this was a good example of a telecom and an FMCG coming together to orchestrate a promotion. We hope to see more such collaborations in the market.”
The brand also hoped to engage with Gen Z through the campaign. “Sixty-five percent of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 30 and these young people do not have the same sense of nostalgia that the Millennials and Boomers have. So, we wanted to use 7up’s brand equity and brand love to introduce Pakistan’s culinary legacy to young people by banking on the strong connection 7up has with food,” says Malik.
Looking to the future, 7up plans to broaden the scope of the ‘Pakistan Ka Food Scene’ campaign. “We hope to cover more Pakistani cities, their unique cultures and cuisines,” concludes Tahir.