Read the Following Scenario and Then Answer the Questions That

question 119

Essay

Read the following scenario and then answer the questions that follow.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal described how the next "Pepsi Generation" likely will be drinking diet cola. Pepsi recently learned that one-third of teens were diet soda drinkers and that teens start drinking diet soft drinks at a very early age. However, they also acknowledged that a substantial portion of young people don't consider diet sodas cool, particularly men. The chief marketing officer for Pepsi-Cola North America was quoted as saying, "We are treating Diet Pepsi as the flagship brand. . . . It's a big step for us." Indeed, this is a major break with the traditional soft-drink marketing, in which the sugar-sweetened brand still dominates in market share. However, with concerns of rising obesity and schools cutting back on sugar-sweetened drinks in vending machines, soft-drink manufacturers, like Pepsi, are responding with increased marketing of their diet soft drinks. As part of this new change in focus, Diet Pepsi will be marketed as a hip, cool brand for everyone, including teenagers and Baby Boomers. Meanwhile, the article stated that Pepsi is narrowing its sales pitch for regular Pepsi-Cola to "soda drinkers younger than 25, Latinos, African-Americans, and sports fans."
-It was also noted in the article that a substantial portion of young people don't consider diet sodas cool, particularly men. What is Pepsi trying to accomplish with its increased effort to reach these consumers?

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Definitions:

Surface Acting

An emotional labor strategy where individuals feign or suppress genuine feelings to meet certain job or social expectations.

Display Rules

Cultural norms that dictate how emotions should be expressed, managing the appearance and suppression of emotions in social settings.

Emotion Work

Effort expended to manage one's own emotions or the emotions of others to meet the emotional requirements of a job or social role.

Relative Importance

The degree of significance or emphasis given to something in relation to other factors or items in a specific context.