Etika Sdn Bhd, PepsiCo’s sole bottler in Malaysia, and the video on demand (VOD) service Dimsum have partnered to provide customers with 60 days of free access to the two-month-old service. Customers who bought a carton of 330ml 7UP, Pepsi or Revive will have a chance to receive one of the 400,000 sets of limited-edition red packets containing free access codes. Each carton will have nine red packets featuring the promo code for Dimsum, the first VOD service in Malaysia featuring Asian content.
The news about the tie-up was made on 13 January 2017, which means consumers only have 15 days to avail this offer until Chinese New Year kicks in on the 28th of January. However, this promotion will last until the end of February 2017.
What Mini Me thinks
This year, Etika has done away with TV commercial for its range of beverages in favour of a partnership with the VOD service provider Dimsum. This partnership will surely resonate with the young crowds who are increasingly consuming media through iflix, Netflix, TonTon and other VOD platforms. However, there is little or no mentioning of the Etika-Dimsum tie-up on the ground.
Etika also does not seem to have made a big buzz about its new limited-edition Chinese New Year Pepsi cans. This is unlike what it did with the marketing of other high-growth segments like RTD tea (Wonda Coffee), Mountain Dew and Goodday milk.
Etika’s group marketing manager Santharuban Thurai Sundaram said during the launching event of the Dimsum partnership that “during Chinese New Year, isotonic and other canned drinks are heavily consumed.” This year, surprisingly, Revive social media page does not have any CNY posting as of 20 January 2017, which makes the author wonder if valuable marketing resources have now shifted to the growth categories.
