Case Study: PepsiCo

Challenge

PepsiCo announced the appointment of a chief strategy and transformation officer to lead the digital evolution within the company. The focus of the global function is to provide support and guidance for the rest of the company as it incorporates digital solutions to all mission-critical operations.

Because S&T impacts the entire organization, it is essential for all business units to become familiar with the function in order to successfully implement digital tools and processes.

As a result, it was necessary to create messaging and a narrative that would outline S&T’s purpose and value. The communications need also included training senior executives, including the chief strategy and transformation officer, to speak confidently and consistently about the function.

Solution

The Salt Standard evaluated the communications needs of the strategy and transformation function and created a plan to develop messaging materials and train company leaders.

The first step involved building a message house that could be referenced by anyone within the function. From there, a narrative and key talking points were developed as guide materials for various teams within S&T.

Once the messaging was created, the chief strategy and transformation officer along with senior leaders, were trained on using the narrative with internal and external audiences. During the training, participants became familiar with the communications materials and learned how to incorporate their own voice and style when sharing the information. The instructional sessions included mock interviews and presentation to get participants comfortable with the language and familiar with the messaging structure.

Results

There were several important and positive results from this communications work. First, there was a better overall understanding for strategy and transformation’s purpose, not only for those working in the function, but also for the rest of the company. The messaging materials outlined the function’s purpose and served as a reference point in answering questions about S&T.

It also helped prepare the chief strategy & transformation officer for top-tier media interviews where they were able to effectively articulate achievements and future goals.

Senior executives were also better equipped at delivering presentations about S&T’s role within the company. The communications materials also supported recruiting efforts as potential new hires became familiar with the function.

Lastly, the work helped strengthen connections within the senior leadership team. The message house and talking points became foundational materials which served as a central narrative from which everyone could draw from. By speaking about the function in a consistent and complete way, the team was better equipped to explain S&T’s role within PepsiCo.