2010 and 2011 were significant growth years for Dr Pepper social media.

The Facebook fan base alone grew to 10.9 million by the end of 2011, but interaction rates had started to plateau. So, we set out to reignite fan passion through three key behaviors:

Champion the Pepper Style–

Every brand has die-hard loyalists, but Dr Pepper fans show a passion that most brands can only wish for. Dr Pepper is not like any other soda, and it's not for everybody. But the ones who love it are fanatical, and proudly wear it as a badge. So we started sharing content that was inspired by our fans or even made by them.

We expressed exactly what our fans were feeling and thinking through language and imagery familiar to them. "Champion the Pepper Lifestyle" became the foundation of our social strategy and we still use it to this day.

Every piece of content we posted to social stemmed from a core brand belief that one-of-a-kinds truly make the world a better place. This way, we were able to atomize our content into multiple story streams that could play out through a variety of creative executions throughout the year.

Speak the Language of the Internet–

At the same time, we also knew that heavy digital users comprised a large part of our fanbase, and that showing Internet savvy and observing web etiquette could convert them to brand advocates. We built this relationship by anticipating Internet trends and putting a "one-of-a-kind" spin on them as they were happening in real time.

Insert the Brand Into Pop Culture –

In order to keep our content fresh and relevant on a daily basis, we adopted a newsroom approach and referenced relevant trends, big moments in pop culture, and major events—and posted these messages while they were still hot topics of conversation.

What's more, our adaptive content consistently ranked as some of the most engaged in the field.