Living the Promise Blog

If you are a PepsiCo associate based in Purchase, you may have found yourself rushing off to a meeting with a million things on your mind when you spot an adorable Guiding Eyes puppy. Suddenly you feel a smile start to spread across your face and get a spring in your step! Despite the fact that you’re running a bit late, you stop to quickly pet the puppy and go about your day feeling a little less stress and inspired by the a spirit of volunteerism and community service in the office. Read more

My first SXSW experience was both eye-opening and inspirational. For anyone who hasn’t been, SXSW is broken down into three segments, Interactive, Film, and Music. The five days I was there I concentrated on the Interactive piece. Below are three themes/highlights of Interactive that I found most insightful. 1. Technology Tech startups from across the world go to SXSW to launch their company, application or service, and as an attendee we get to be the first to experience them, which is very exciting. The best place to absorb all of this knowledge was the Trade Show, Startup Village, and of course PepsiCo Central! At the Trade Show, apps were the big thing. All startups would encourage you to download their new app right then and there, to the point where they would incent you with gift cards and giveaways. And if you don’t have... Read more

As a global food and beverage company, this year’s theme, Water and Food Security, is very important to PepsiCo. We believe in good water stewardship and recognize that water is fundamental to our ability to operate efficiently. We help conserve global water supplies and help provide access to safe water. Along with our partners, we engage in multiple ways around this important issue. Here are just a few examples: Check out Dan Bena’s blog, Rethinking Water and Business, where he discusses his “careful celebration” in regards to the recent announcement by the United Nations that the Millennium Development Goal for access to clean water has been reached, ahead of the target date of 2015. Dan also talks about PepsiCo’s belief that water stewardship is an important part of our core business. Our partners at the Earth Institute just did some great infographics that highlight our work together... Read more

With a legacy of some great successes, and some exciting plans on the horizon, PepsiCo's total beverage system is charged up to win. Read more

That's how Reid Hoffman kicked off the "Start Up of You" seminar. The panel focused on how to think about your career strategy in the 20th century. I thought it would be a good time to streamline the focus on my career path at PepsiCo. And it was.... Read more

Today marks the end of my first trip to SXSW. On my flight down here from New York, I was extremely optimistic about the opportunity to discover what was so special about this annual mecca of interactive media. But, despite scouring the SXSW website prior to the trip, I had no idea what awaited me in Austin. Read more

Whether it’s at panels, sponsor footprints, or keynotes, a lot of the discussion at SXSW has centered around how advances in technology might enhance the in-store retail experience. All of the big buzzwords this year--mobile payments, NFC, 3D technology, tablets, touch screens, targeting and customization--have implications on the retail experience. Read more

In 1865 – more than 100 years before the “giant leap for mankind” – Jules Verne effectively invented the science fiction genre with his book, “From the Earth to the Moon.” Not only did Verne stimulate a new way of forward-looking creative thinking, his predictions in this and his other works were uncannily accurate – he was even able to closely calculate the optimal position of the planets and the rocket path (before rockets existed, of course) necessary to get us to Mother Earth’s lone satellite. If Verne could somehow attend SXSW (maybe in H.G. Wells’ time machine?), he’d be proud. Everyone here – presenters, panelists and attendees alike – is inspired to take a look over the horizon – to imagine what the future will look like for our lives, products, services and businesses. Interestingly, here in Austin, I’ve seen three distinct approaches to predicting the future. The first is probably the most familiar to us all: analyzing the massive amounts of data available, discovering trends and plotting them into the near future. Incredibly valuable (of course), but it’s incomplete without looking at the trends outside our normal sphere of influence that may impact the results of our data modeling. Read more

It’s what I expected and more! The energy, opportunities to learn, connect with people and think differently are abundant and ubiquitous in downtown Austin, TX for South By Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) and there is something for everyone. I’m not a digital marketer, and I honestly can’t claim to be an early adopter of new technology. But it should be obvious to anyone in our business that digital technology is changing how people live, connect, create and find information, and the atmosphere of SXSW makes that even more evident to me. As part of PepsiCo’s efforts to be a digitally savvy company throughout the ranks, locations and functions, I have the opportunity to experience 3 days of seminars, small group chats and creative, cutting edge booths where big and small companies share with digital influencers what they have to offer and also tap into the... Read more

As you walk around Austin, big data sticks out as a palpable, recurring theme of SXSW. With every attendee constantly using their mobile device to tweet, check-in to their location, or post photos, an enormous amount of data gets generated every second. Ironically, for as connected as this audience is, cutting through all that noise and identifying what’s most important can be a peculiar challenge. PepsiCo and other companies have seized the opportunity to manipulate and showcase these data in a variety of different ways. One such company is Samsung. Samsung’s execution aims to provide utility for conference attendees by surfacing the most relevant information from moment-to-moment. Their team of curators scours the incoming data streams for trends, changing the screen display to reflect key topics. In the morning, bleary-eyed conference goers are greeted with humorous gems from the previous night’s revelry. As keynote speakers take... Read more