Case Study: PepsiCo attracts graduates using game technology with Dare To Do More challenge

Challenge

A company that was willing to test its products in the vacuum of space and innovate at every turn was naturally keen on evolving the graduate recruitment process. PepsiCo wanted new ways to connect with top talent and deliver an educational and engaging candidate experience. The challenge for Appetite was to develop and deliver a creative and innovative approach to ensure candidates have a positive experience, interact with the full suite of brands and have fun during the recruitment process.

Knowing that PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than a billion times a day, the connected experience needed to educate candidates about its breadth of products. A concept was designed around 10 PepsiCo brands (Pepsi, Doritos, Ruffles, Cheetos, Tropicana, Quaker, Gatorade, Naked, 7Up, Walkers and Lay’s). Appetite used gamification to set both the company and the candidates apart, and aligned to the core company values alive. Aspects of this included PepsiCo’s mission of accelerating brand growth through consistent, meaningful and beautiful brand ecosystems across multiple touchpoints, to create relevant brand experiences.

Solution

Appetite designed the PepsiCo Games web-based app experience to be integrated with the open innovation platform used for the Dare To Do More Challenge. Potential candidates can select an avatar or take a brand-based selfie. The profile then reflects scores for each game played. Options are then presented to the user which include scanning a PepsiCo product, creating a themed selfie or one of the following games, chosen via a roulette wheel:

• Pairs: users will have to be able to match the correct brand name to its corresponding logo element. For example, match the Quaker text logo to the image of its mascot or match the Cheetos logo to the image of Chester the Cheetos cheetah.

• Juice Ninja: players will have to choose between Tropicana or Naked, making sure to only slice the fruit branding that matches their chosen juice.

• Quiz: players’ knowledge of PepsiCo and its brands will be put to the test through a series of multiple-choice questions.

All games are fully animated, dynamic and come with a countdown timer, encouraging users to compete to earn points while fighting against the clock.

To gain more points, candidates can also use the web app to scan the barcode on various PepsiCo products (limited to one product per day) and take selfies using customisable selfie filters.

For the recruitment team, Appetite Creative created administration accounts which gave them access to an overview dashboard for the platform.

Results

PepsiCo wanted graduates to have a positive application experience and engage with their brands, while having fun during the recruitment process. The solution delivered by Appetite Creative was the Dare To Do More Challenge PepsiCo Games web app.

The app was a success among the candidates and, within the first two months, more than 500 users registered, with almost 300 page views and an average session time of more than eight minutes. Appetite’s proprietary gaming technology enabled the graduates to have fun during their application process, play the games hundreds of times, as well as learn more about PepsiCo and its portfolio of beloved brands.

Jenny Stanley, managing director at Appetite Creative.