PepsiCo India starts 'digital listening' to focus on brands sentiment

PepsiCo India has started a daily "digital listening" to gauge online sentiment around its brands, reported PTI.

"We do digital listening at PepsiCo, we get brand-by-brand report every morning, positive sentiment, negative sentiment, what are the issues etc," PepsiCo India Chairman and CEO D Shivakumar said.

All the brand managers and those busy in research and development are looking carefully at discussions online everyday "to make sure there is a sense of consumer sentiment", he said.

He said the deepening mobile and digital penetration has resulted in people getting a tool to express themselves and others commenting on the same, which can hurt a brand.

Besides, people have started trusting their communities and there can be a situation wherein there is a "volcano of commentary" on bad experiences, he said.

Without naming Maggi, Shivakumar also alluded to the controversy, saying, "I know there are a few people from Nestle in the audience, and they know what I mean."

Once some problem is detected, companies have to be very "judicious" in the timing of their response, he added.

"You have to time your response very carefully. Too early, may be no use and too late, again no use. You have to judge the pulse of consumers in social media and hence, all good companies need to do what I call digital listening every day," he said.

Before being banned by the food regulator, there were a slew of criticisms of Nestle's popular Maggi noodles online, with many people flagging health concerns.