Community Relations

PepsiCo has taken a variety of different steps in the realm of community relations. Since the corporation realizes the important role that helping the community takes in the success of a business, they formed the PepsiCo Foundation in 1962. Today this foundation works with public, private and civil organizations in order to improve the fundamental problems and concerns throughout the community. While today the foundation is influential on a global level, that is not how the foundation started out. The primary purpose of this foundation was to promote health and wellness within Pepsi. As time continued, the company spread its focus to funding fitness education for youth. In 1998, the PepsiCo Foundation was the first corporation to become a sponsor of the YMCA of the USA. Since the program started, PepsiCo and their foundation have funded numerous programs on the importance of active lifestyles and making smart dietary choices. Promoting nutrition and physical activity throughout the community gives Pepsi a good name since it shows that the business is concerned about their customers and wants to give back.

While nutrition and physical activity was extremely important causes to support, in recent years PepsiCo Foundation has changed its community relations practices in order to reflect the needs of underprivileged populations. The foundation donates to areas in need of health, environmental and educational assistance. The health goals of the community relations department include protecting and providing nutritious foods, improving complete health and bettering nutrition. As there have been recent environmental crises, the PepsiCo Foundation looks to protect and improve existing water sources, along with sustaining agriculture. The third area which Pepsi uses in its community relations practicing is improving education and women’s empowerment.

PepsiCo now focuses on the global community instead of just the national level, with a total $27.9 million being contributed to charitable causes in 2009. Recent disasters have also encouraged the PepsiCo Foundation to donate to response assistance. Different disasters which PepsiCo has been able to assist during include the Haiti earthquake, Asia flooding and China earthquake. While donating to these different causes is extremely helpful for those in need, it also provides Pepsi with a better reputation since many people respect the contributions made by the organization.

Media Relations

PepsiCo is extremely focused on keeping in close contact with the media that publicizes and writes about different stories that Pepsi is part of. Pepsi has an entire section of their website dedicated to MEDIA where people utilizing the website can find all press releases distributed by Pepsi, different stories they have about what is going on in their company, along with many new stories that have been written about the company by other outlets. The fact sheet and media contact section of the website enables journalists to learn considerable amounts about the company by simply viewing their website.

Different press releases that Pepsi provided on their website for members of the media includes articles on their financial results, stories about product design and improvements, advertising news and articles about members of the personels and the conferences they partake in. The articles posted on the "In the News" section tend to be about the positive things the company has been doing such as supporting children in need, being ranked in the 50 most admired companies, and their interest in reviving sunflower production in order to help the environment. A variety of the articles had quotes from members of the Pepsi company. One example of a quotation was given from the public relations person Andrea Foote, where other quotations where given by members of upper management such as Shiv Singh, Head of Digital for PepsiCo.

Pepsi has used its media page to provide press releases about their corporation, along with posting internet and newspaper articles that will show their organization in a positive light. While there have been negative articles presented about the company, the media section of the website has been presented in a way so that media outlets will only be provided with the positive information about the Pepsi organizations.