Grassroots marketing is all about getting “brand in hand, in the context that makes sense,” Mark Kirkham, SVP and CMO of PepsiCo International Beverages, told Chief Marketer this week. But in sports marketing, including the work he’s doing for Gatorade’s 5V5 international girls soccer tournament, there is the potential to create a personalized, formative experience.

“It's about starting young, working your way up, and providing both education and opportunity along the way,” he says. “Generically, some people just think grassroots is about sampling, or the lowest-level activation. But actually, grassroots should be seen as the base on which you build your funnel. It's the base on which you create experiences. For some consumers, it's the first time they interact with your brand or your product. That moment of truth is really important.”

Check out our conversation with Kirkham about recent campaigns for Gatorade and 7UP; the challenges facing global marketers today; how to achieve balance between global scale and local relevance; and the intricacies of restaging an iconic brand—in this case 7UP—through its new visual identity.

Moving on to budgets: Many CMOs—59 percent, according to the Harvard Business Review—are experiencing increased pressure from CEOs to prove the ROI of marketing investments. But there are steps CMOs can take to optimize their marketing spend, from assessing the impact of vendors, agencies and martech tools to building collaborative teams to revitalizing great content.

Lastly, ChatGPT’s generative AI capabilities are spreading through business applications like wildfire—and retail marketing is no exception. We look at how the tool may be applied to product marketing and ecommerce, plus how fast-fashion brand Shein is taking advantage of the service.

Until next week,

Kaylee Hultgren
Editor
Chief Marketer

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