PEPSI’S 12-million-dollar sponsorship of Rebel Salute on January 15, 2011, signals the start of a major thrust that involves using music to push sales of its products locally.

Head of Marketing for Pepsi Cola Jamaica, Carlo Redwood, explained that Jamaicans love music and in that regard partnering with the promoters of events that involve music is a natural step in that direction. “Globally, Pepsi has for a long time been involved in music. Now we are focused on getting involved at a local level,” he said.

Pepsi commands more than 90 per cent market share but according to Carlo Redwood, this initiative is all about being more aggressive in the local marketplace. “Our sales continue to be strong as market leaders but in this initiative we are using music to continue to drive sales,” he said.

According to Redwood, Pepsi will be heavily involved in music-based events in the New Year: “Come January you will see a marketing push associated with music,” he said. As the year progresses, he continued, there will be more sponsorship and more promotions associated with music.

The sponsorship money for Rebel Salute was in part used to stage three Rebel Salute Road Shows in November and early December during which an emerging act was selected from hundreds to perform on the reggae festival that will be staged at Port Kaiser in St. Elizabeth. The remainder is to be used for promotion and production of the show. According to Redwood, the shows will help to build momentum towards Rebel Salute.

Included in the promotion for Rebel Salute will be a campaign in St Elizabeth, Mandeville and Clarendon wherein consumers who buy Pepsi products from supermarkets or wholesale stores will get an opportunity to win instant prizes that include tickets to the long-running reggae festival.

Next year’s renewal will feature acts like Nadine Sutherland, Toots and the Maytals, Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley, Jack Radics, Queen Ifrica, I-Octane, Khago and Romaine Virgo.