As Tết2024 approached, Vietnam faced an economic downturn with more than 1 million workers laid off, creating significant hesitation about returning home for the holiday. Recognizing that consumers still craved reunion and Tết memories despite these challenges, Pepsi maintained its commitment to its "bringing Tết home" platform for the fourth consecutive year. The brand leveraged groundbreaking AI technology to transform the traditional Tet approach in multiple ways: analyzing social media conversations to identify meaningful homecoming stories, using AI to generate 50 key visuals within one week (saving $200,000 in creative costs), implementing AI ad formats to optimize media delivery, and creating Vietnam's first AI avatar-changing mini-app on Zalo that allowed users to personalize avatars from selfies for the new year. These efforts were complemented by a CSR initiative offering free tickets for people to return home and a TikTok Capcut template to captured family celebration moments. The campaign delivered extraordinary results: over 68 million reaches, 176 million views, nearly 200 million avatar changes by 5 million unique users, and over 30,000 family moments shared via TikTok. Beyond metrics, Pepsi achieved its highest Tếtpack volume share in four years (up 250 basis points (bp)), facilitated nearly 5,000 reunions, saved $450,000 in creative and media costs, and earned $900,000 in media value. Most importantly, Pepsi pioneered AI integration in marketing activities in Vietnam, revolutionizing advertising strategies while maintaining a human connection through its meaningful CSR impact.
As Tết2024 approached amid Vietnam's economic downturn with over 1 million laid-off workers, Pepsi identified that despite financial challenges, consumers still craved reunion and Tết memories. The brand committed to its "bringing Tết home" platform with a dual mission: to inspire and engage consumers to return home for Tet while reinforcing its commitment to helping reunite families through CSR efforts. Beyond the business objective of driving sales during this key season for carbonated soft drinks, Pepsi recognized Tết as a valuable opportunity to connect with consumers on a deeper level by speaking their language through special efforts that would help individuals reunite with their families.
While many brands traditionally focus on family gatherings during Tết, Pepsi sought to transform the traditional approach by leveraging groundbreaking AI technology. The brand had established its "bringing Tết home" platform over the previous three years but needed to evolve it to address the current economic challenges while maintaining relevance. Pepsi recognized that the journey home needed to be more captivating than ever, which led to pioneering the use of AI in consumer data analysis, optimizing delivery through AI ad formats, and creating an AI avatar-changing mini app that truly revolutionized the traditional Tếtexperience.
Pepsi recognized that everyone desires reunion during Tết, whether near or far. The brand strategically targeted places where people gather, with an initial focus on workers, university students, and travelers six-10 weeks before Tết to inspire them to return home. As the holiday approached, Pepsi scaled to mass audiences while maintaining special engagement with youth audiences who are digital natives, embracing innovations like TikTok Cap Cut, ChatGPT, AI data learning, and generative AI (gen AI). This approach allowed Pepsi to seamlessly integrate into their lives, transforming interactions and engagement through technologies that resonated with their digital behaviors and preferences.
Pepsi converged creative and media strategies, eliminating traditional boundaries between these roles. The approach began with listening to real-time conversations on social media platforms, asking "What moment urges you to go home for Tết?" These interactions revealed meaningful stories that helped craft the campaign's key messages and visuals, rooted in genuine, real-world data and powerful insights.
Leveraging AI applications, Pepsi expedited the creative process by generating exceptional visuals and copy without requiring a production house. These AI-generated assets were then deployed across media channels through an integrated strategy. Further blurring traditional lines, the media approach included an AI avatar app that tailored messages and personalized user experiences, highlighting big ideas while seamlessly connecting media and creative efforts.
All activities showcased a mixed strategy between media and creative, supporting each other in inspiring Tết memories and bringing people home. This approach allowed Pepsi to boost effectiveness and efficiency, saving over $900,000 in creative and media value while achieving exceptional quality work that revolutionized advertising strategies through enhanced targeting, personalization, and overall campaign effectiveness.
The campaign execution leveraged AI technology at multiple touchpoints to create a comprehensive, personalized experience:
Social Listening and AI-Generated Visuals
Pepsi began by asking "What moment urges you to go home for Tết?" on social media platforms. From these real-time conversations, meaningful stories emerged that shaped the campaign's key messages. Using advanced AI technology, Pepsi created 50 exceptional AI-generated key visuals within one week, saving up to $200,000 in creative costs. These visuals were deployed across Vietnam on over 1,000 billboards and LEDs, strategically placed in locations where the target audience gathered: universities, workplaces, coffee shops, fast-food outlets, roundabouts, traffic roads, and airports.
Omnichannel Distribution with AI Optimization
The campaign extended across online press, YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, key opinion leaders (KOLs), and community platforms, using the newest AI ad formats and optimization techniques to achieve 20 percent cost efficiency. This approach ensured that the creative assets reached the right audiences at the right moments across their preferred channels.
CSR Initiative for Tangible Reunions
Understanding that "without home, there is no Tết," Pepsi partnered with the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union to offer free tickets for people to return home. This meaningful CSR campaign provided practical support for those facing financial challenges, turning the campaign message into tangible action.
AI Avatar Mini-App on Zalo
As Tết approached, Pepsi observed a 500 percent increase in calls and messages to family members. Capitalizing on this trend, the brand partnered with Zalo, Vietnam's leading messaging platform, to launch the country's first AI Avatar Image mini-app. For Vietnamese people, a new year symbolizes a fresh start, often represented through a new profile picture. The mini-app allowed users to personalize avatars from selfies, reflecting their genders, ages, and styles based on top moments or stories shared, spreading Vietnamese traditional beauty on a mass scale, especially among youth.
TikTok Capcut Template for Family Moments
As a final touch, Pepsi collaborated with TikTok to release a Capcut template for capturing family celebration moments. This tool enhanced the Tết experience while reinforcing the importance of family reunions, creating a platform for users to share their personal Tếtcelebrations.
The sophisticated integration of AI across these execution elements demonstrated how technology could enhance rather than replace human connection, creating personalized experiences at scale while maintaining the emotional resonance essential for the Tet holiday.
The campaign delivered exceptional results across reach, engagement, business metrics, and cost efficiency:
Reach and Engagement:
Brand and Business Performance:
Efficiency and Value Creation:
Beyond these metrics, the campaign succeeded in its mission to inspire and engage consumers, igniting their desire to return home while reinforcing Pepsi's commitment to bringing people home through CSR efforts. The four-year "homing platform" has made a significant societal impact, showcasing Pepsi's dedication to humanity and fostering a two-way connection between the brand and consumers.
Moreover, through the significant results achieved with advanced AI, Pepsi pioneered the market's adoption of AI in marketing activities, blurring the boundaries between media and creative. This approach revolutionized advertising strategies by deeply understanding and engaging consumers at multiple levels of their journey. The campaign demonstrated that AI could enhance rather than replace human connection, creating more meaningful and effective brand interactions when deployed with purpose and creativity.
