Inside PepsiCo’s Co-Sourcing Revolution: Agility, Cultural Fluency, and Real Sales Growth

In a digital marketplace defined by relentless speed and ever-shifting trends, legacy brands face a formidable challenge: remaining relevant while moving at the pace of modern social media. In June, PepsiCo executed a bold maneuver that’s reverberating through the marketing world. By deepening its partnership with VaynerMedia, the beverage giant has pioneered a new operational paradigm—co-sourcing—to propel its brands like Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Starry into the heart of cultural conversations. This approach is more than a process tweak; it’s a strategic overhaul designed for the “always-on” digital age, where a campaign’s success is measured not only in likes but in tangible sales growth.

The Shift Beyond In-Housing and Outsourcing

Traditional models of campaign production—whether handled entirely in-house or outsourced to agencies—have long defined the relationship between brand and creative partner. In-housing promises control and brand intimacy but can breed rigidity. Outsourcing offers external expertise but may slow responsiveness and dilute brand voice. PepsiCo’s decision to embrace co-sourcing with VaynerMedia signals a deliberate break from these conventions. The new model is interdependent, blending PepsiCo’s deep reservoir of brand strategy with VaynerMedia’s mastery of social-first marketing.

In practice, this means shared business KPIs, streamlined campaign briefings, and a reduction in the formality that often bogs down creative processes. Both teams operate with a unified goal: rapid, culturally resonant content that thrives in the frenetic environments of TikTok and other platforms. The shift is not merely organizational; it’s philosophical, reflecting a broader industry move toward flexibility and hybridization in creative and business operations.

Agility and Cultural Fluency: The New Currency

Mark Kirkham, CMO of PepsiCo Beverages U.S., offers a candid assessment of the brand’s pre-co-sourcing reality. Despite its storied legacy and talented in-house teams, PepsiCo struggled with the agility and creative adaptability demanded by social media’s algorithm-driven landscape. The partnership with VaynerMedia was born from necessity: to access cutting-edge expertise in crafting content that doesn’t just fill feeds, but moves the needle on consumer engagement and sales.

This new-found agility has transformed PepsiCo’s campaign timelines. What once took a month—concept to execution—can now be accomplished in just 2–3 days. The ability to react to viral moments, cultural touchstones, and emerging trends is no longer a luxury but a baseline requirement. In a space where yesterday’s meme can become tomorrow’s movement, brands must be as nimble as the platforms they inhabit.

Metrics That Matter: Content, Engagement, and Sales

The real test of any operational model lies in outcomes. PepsiCo’s co-sourcing initiative has delivered results that speak for themselves. Content production has tripled, creating a steady stream of branded social assets tailored for rapid consumption and organic sharing. Engagement rates have surged by 50–70%, depending on the brand. But perhaps most compelling is the impact on sales—a metric often elusive in the world of digital marketing.

Mug Root Beer’s performance under the co-sourcing model serves as a case study in social-driven brand acceleration. Fueled by viral activations and meme culture, the brand has achieved 50% year-over-year growth, becoming the fastest-growing root beer in the category and poised to become PepsiCo’s fourth-largest beverage brand. This isn’t engagement for engagement’s sake—it’s content that converts.

Gary Vaynerchuk’s Playbook: Organic Reach Over Paid Amplification

Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, has long championed the philosophy that in the social era, organic engagement trumps paid reach. Success is not measured in impressions alone, but in the ability of content to spark genuine interest and drive action. The Mug Root Beer story is proof of concept: “It worked not on shares or … more content created. It worked on sales,” Vaynerchuk asserts.

In the co-sourcing model, weak creative cannot hide behind paid media. The imperative is clear—produce content that resonates naturally, that users want to engage with and share. The result is a feedback loop where organic reach correlates directly with bottom-line results. The era of “spray and pray” media buys is fading; precision, relevance, and authenticity now rule.

Process Innovations: Speed and Simplicity as Strategic Advantages

One of the most striking aspects of the PepsiCo-VaynerMedia partnership is the radical simplification of campaign workflows. By reducing the formality and bureaucracy that typically hamper large organizations, both teams are free to iterate quickly and seize real-time opportunities. Briefings are streamlined, feedback cycles shortened, and decision-making democratized.

This process innovation is not merely a time-saver; it’s a strategic advantage. In the digital economy, speed is as valuable as creativity. The ability to launch, test, and refine social activations in days rather than weeks allows PepsiCo’s brands to stay culturally fluent and ahead of competitors who remain locked in slower, more traditional models.

The Broader Industry Implication: Hybrid Models for Modern Marketing

The co-sourcing approach is emblematic of a larger trend sweeping through the marketing industry. Rigid boundaries between in-house and agency functions are dissolving, replaced by flexible arrangements tailored to the demands of specific platforms and audiences. The PepsiCo-VaynerMedia partnership is not just a pilot—it’s a blueprint for brands seeking relevance in an “always-on” ecosystem.

PepsiCo’s $2 billion acquisition of Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand, underscores the strategic importance of social and influencer marketing capabilities. In today’s marketplace, growth is increasingly tied to a brand’s ability to achieve scaled organic reach. Kirkham and Vaynerchuk’s alignment on this point is telling: the brands winning in business are those mastering the art of organic social engagement.

A New Era for Legacy Brands—and Beyond

The success of PepsiCo’s co-sourcing experiment offers a compelling roadmap for legacy brands grappling with the realities of digital transformation. It proves that agility, cultural fluency, and real-time collaboration are not just buzzwords; they are the new foundations of growth in a world governed by social platforms and influencer economies.

For marketers and executives, the lesson is clear. The old dichotomies—control versus creativity, speed versus substance—are giving way to hybrid models that harness the strengths of both in-house and agency resources. The co-sourcing partnership between PepsiCo and VaynerMedia is more than a tactical alliance; it’s a strategic evolution, setting the pace for the next chapter of brand-building in the digital age.

As the industry continues to evolve, expect more brands to follow suit, seeking out partnerships that deliver not just engagement but measurable business impact. The future belongs to those who can move fast, think culturally, and connect authentically—because in the end, it’s not just about being seen. It’s about being chosen.