Dr. Pepper's Social Media Strategy Rivals Coke and Pepsi

Three ways the soda giant grew their business and threatened Pepsi and Coke

Check out the dashboard we used to analyze this insight in Infegy Starscape!

Dr. Pepper, a beloved yet formerly smaller brand, has become a fearsome competitor for Coke and Pepsi, the two long-time soda leaders in the United States. What makes Dr. Pepper's growth so interesting is how old yet nimble the brand has become on social media over the last decade. Dr. Pepper, founded in 1885, had been seen as a third fiddle to the mega soda brands, but has maneuvered itself into a competitive spot where they've begun to challenge them. Legacy brands (think GE, Proctor and Gamble, and Dr. Pepper) have the advantage of being a known quantity but have the disadvantage of being locked into a narrative. Dr. Pepper has taken advantage of being known and achieving the agility of a smaller, younger brand.

Social media and digital growth have been critical to their success. Over the last ten years, Dr. Pepper has grown its brand presence by 296% in post volume by reaching out to younger potential customers. Let's look at how we used Infegy Starscape, our powerful new social listening tool, to identify three aspects of Dr. Pepper's business growth strategy.

Figure 1: Dr. Pepper's post volume growth (July 2014 through July 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

Inserting themselves into the competition

The soda business is fiercely competitive, with Coke and Pepsi distributors battling over who gets distribution rights at large and small venues (everything from sports stadiums to movie theaters to mom-and-pop pizza shops). Dr. Pepper realized it couldn't compete with its behemoth competition. Instead of trying to "win" and replace Coke and Pepsi, its distributors found a way to sneak into their competitors' machines.

Figure 2: Pepsi machine with Dr. Pepper predominantly displayed.

We also found this juxtaposition within social data. Figure 3 shows a word cloud of generic Dr. Pepper conversation topics. Without looking for it, we found prominent mentions of the two largest competitors (Coke and Pepsi). More interestingly, mentions of Coke and Pepsi were predominantly positive, meaning that social media users weren't attacking the competition - Dr. Pepper found a way to coexist (and expand) amongst the big players in the space without resorting to negativity. We want to stress just how rare this is. Typically, when we do competitive research (e.g., Apple vs. Samsung phone conversation), we see Apple users being negative about Samsung and Samsung users attacking iPhone users. This more positive juxtaposition suggests how Dr. Pepper positioned itself within the competitive landscape without attacking its main, and much larger competitors.

Figure 3: Dr. Pepper word cloud, colored by sentiment (July 2014 through July 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

Focus on unique, limited-edition flavors to attract new customers

Our first reason dealt with Dr. Pepper's competition—i.e., how it positioned itself as a potential alternative to Coke and Pepsi. Next, we'll discuss how Dr. Pepper leveraged its legacy brand with new flavors to attract new customers who stayed for the classic drink.

Dr. Pepper's signature 23-flavor drink is what the brand is known for, which you'll find in the vast majority of soda fountains and grocery stores. However, they've also done a great job launching limited-edition flavors. These flavors, often tied to media launches like Marvel's Spider-Man: Far From Home, attract new customers to the brand, especially people who wouldn't traditionally try Dr. Pepper. Notably, as shown by Figure 4, these flavors are only produced for a short time - on the contrary, they're only available for a limited time. This urgency motivates new folks to try them.

Dr. Pepper has carefully experimented with limited-edition flavors similar to its flagship brand. Therefore, new drinkers are likely to switch to traditional Dr. Pepper when the limited-edition flavor expires.

Figure 4: Limited edition Dr. Pepper Flavor post volume growth (July 2019 through July 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

Focus on attracting gender-balanced and younger customers

Our final social listening-backed answer to account for Dr. Pepper's astounding growth over the past decade concerns its demographic outreach. Infegy Starscape can automatically detect gender and age from a subset of the accounts that we collect. As a result, we can make demographic claims based on a representative account sample.

We found accounts discussing Dr. Pepper overwhelmingly lean toward the younger demographic. 20-year-olds made up the most significant percentage of Dr. Pepper conversations, with a sharp dropoff as age increased. Younger folks are a vital demographic for brands to attract. Much research has shown that younger people make the initial purchasing decisions that they will follow throughout their lives. Therefore, if brands can attract 20-year-olds, they are more likely to keep their business for the rest of their lives. Based on our indications, Dr. Pepper is doing a great job at attracting younger folks.

Figure 5: Charts showing younger, mixed-gender Dr. Pepper audience demographics (July 2014 through July 2024); Infegy Social Dataset.

Finally, let's talk about gender. We often see lopsided gender distributions when dealing with branded content. While this works for some products (think feminine hygiene products or a beard oil brand), with more broad-based products, positioning your brand could potentially alienate half of the population. While Dr. Pepper does have a male slant, it's well within our margin of error in being a balanced brand. As they grow, they've got the entire portion of the population to expand into.

Takeaways for your brand

Dr. Pepper's innovative approach to social media and digital engagement highlights the importance of using a robust social listening solution. By analyzing competitive landscapes, understanding audience sentiment, and identifying key growth opportunities, brands can adapt and thrive in a competitive market. The insights gained from social listening tools enable data-driven decisions that drive engagement and growth, as demonstrated by Dr. Pepper's strategic use of limited-edition flavors and targeted demographic outreach.

Key Takeaways on Dr. Pepper's Growth

Strategic Competition Positioning

Dr. Pepper carved its niche by coexisting with larger competitors like Coke and Pepsi, capitalizing on positive brand associations.

Unique Limited-Edition Flavors

Limited-edition flavors tied to media launches attracted new customers, reinforcing brand loyalty once exclusive offerings expired.

Demographic Targeting for Growth

Dr. Pepper effectively engaged younger consumers, a key demographic, while maintaining a gender-balanced appeal, driving long-term brand loyalty.

Importance of Social Listening

Dr. Pepper's success emphasizes using robust social listening tools to understand market dynamics and audience sentiment, informing growth strategies.