14 DAY TRIAL // Everything that Beyonce touches turns to gold, so it’s no wonder Pepsi too is rushing to capitalize on that. The singer has signed a $50 million (€38.5 million) endorsement deal which will also see her receive funds for whatever projects she might choose to support.
In other words, Forbes notes, though Beyonce will primarily endorse Pepsi, she will maintain creative control in the partnership.
“Pepsi embraces creativity and understands that artists evolve. As a businesswoman, this allows me to work with a lifestyle brand with no compromise and without sacrificing my creativity,” the singer says in the official announcement.
For the time being, the first fruits of the partnership are already online and you too can see them in the photo attached to this article: a print ad with Beyonce and her own personalized Pepsi can, which is yet to make its debut in stores.
“The unconventional multi-year deal is said to include standard advertising like commercials and print ads as well as a ‘fund to support the singer’s chosen creative projects’,” Forbes reports.
“These projects, according to sources, are as of yet undefined but could include events, photo shoots or ‘almost anything else’ that Beyoncé, the actress, songstress and entrepreneur who last year pulled in $40 million [€30.8 million], deems a creative partnership opportunity,” the same publication reports.
Beyonce’s husband Jay-Z entered into a similar partnership with Anheuser Busch beer Bud Select, which got industry people talking about a new brand of endorsement, which goes beyond the mere fact of holding up a can or box of something and smiling for the cameras.
While all the details of Beyonce’s new partnership are yet to be made public, PepsiCo is gushing about how allowing the singer creative control is actually a sort of tribute to fans.
“Consumers are seeking a much greater authenticity in marketing from the brands they love. It’s caused a shift in the way we think about deals with artists, from a transactional deal to a mutually beneficial collaboration,” Brad Jakeman, president of PepsiCo’s global beverage group, explains.