PepsiCo and VaynerMedia have implemented a “co-sourcing” model that combines PepsiCo’s brand knowledge with VaynerMedia’s expertise in social-first marketing. Rather than relying solely on in-house teams or external agencies, this hybrid structure builds a unified, collaborative setup where both sides share KPIs and workflows. The result is a faster, more efficient system for producing culturally relevant social content, which has reportedly led to a threefold increase in content output for PepsiCo’s beverage brands and contributed to sales growth.
“We understand the brand strategy, we understand creative strategy. We have great creatives and production capabilities,” said Mark Kirkham, who was promoted to CMO of PepsiCo Beverages U.S. earlier this year. “But in a world where the dynamic nature [of marketing], especially in social, is so fast-moving: Do we have the agility, do we have the resourcing, do we have the creative flexibility to understand how algorithms drive how consumers behave? We probably didn’t have that if we were really honest.”
Kirkham noted that much of today’s marketing success is shaped by platform algorithms, making brands increasingly dependent on specialists who understand how to make content thrive in those spaces. According to VaynerMedia, the shift toward social-first marketing marks a new phase in which success depends more on creative merit than on media budgets: content that genuinely captures audience interest earns engagement organically, and can then be further boosted through paid promotion.
“When you post organically on these social platforms, it either gets views or it doesn’t, and there’s a lot of brands and agencies here that use working media to amplify organic social to hide that it’s still bad creative,” said Gary Vaynerchuk, co-founder and CEO of VaynerMedia.
PepsiCo and VaynerMedia’s confidence in adopting the co-sourcing model stems from a partnership that spans about 15 years, dating back to the early days of social media marketing, when PepsiCo was among Gary Vaynerchuk’s first clients. One of the strongest proofs of the model’s success didn’t come from Pepsi itself, but from Mug Root Beer.
The brand has achieved 50% year-over-year growth, driven by social activations that playfully embrace its bulldog mascot, often portrayed by a VaynerMedia team member, and tap into meme culture. According to Kirkham, Mug is now on track to become PepsiCo’s fourth-largest beverage brand and is currently the fastest-growing root beer brand overall.
The PepsiCo–VaynerMedia collaboration comes at a moment when many brands are rethinking how they engage with marketing partners. Companies are experimenting with new hybrid structures, such as bespoke agencies embedded within major holding groups, like Coca-Cola’s Open X within WPP, while others are seeking external expertise to strengthen their own in-house teams. This broader shift reflects an industry-wide effort to create more agile, customized models that blend brand intimacy with agency-scale innovation.
