Is it really here?  Yes, South by Southwest 2011 has finally begun.  Actually, it started two days ago, but time flies when it’s your favorite week of the year. This year I will be focusing more on a branding perspective through the eyes of PepsiCo as well as how other businesses and industries are expanding and changing the brand’s relationship to our products.  I know it’s a little different to actually working on a theme, but there is so much on the subject of branding at SXSW this year that I want to share with you as much as possible. For the first post I want to talk about the fast growing market of branding products through online games – specifically how gamming companies advertise products through the user experience in online communities.  I’m amazed by the fact that the social gaming community has a bigger... Read more

I wanted to share a few thoughts this week about the PepsiCo volunteers that take time out of their days to get involved with the Food for Good Mobile feeding routes. I had the fortunate pleasure to travel around with several members of the PepsiCo Business + Innovation Solutions (BIS) team on a mobile feeding route one day this week, and I will say it was an uplifting experience on many fronts. Read more

With sheets of rain pouring down on the Food for Good Mobile Feeding route, we didn’t know if there would be any children out to receive the breakfast and lunches the Food for Good team was serving. “As we turned the corner we saw color in the distance, only to realize it was children and parents holding umbrellas in the rain waiting on the Food for Good truck to arrive,” <img Read more

Over the first few weeks, we noticed a few of the delivery stops on the Food for Good Mobile Feeding routes really didn’t have many kids. While some of the stops are passing out up to 150-200 breakfasts and lunches to the kids, there were a few stops that would only have 5-10 kids show up each day. Read more

I have to admit there were many butterflies leading up to day 1 of the 2010 year. Last year, we had 18 stops each day split between two trucks. This year, we have 100 stops split between ten trucks! Last year, we had two drivers on the delivery routes, and this year we have ten. Last year, we ran the program from July to mid-August. This year, we will be operating every day of the summer vacation (June 7 – August 20). Read more