Pepsi and POPAI Partner Together to Launch the 2012 Student Display Design Competition

CHICAGO, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Visually quenching the shoppers' thirst in the aisles of a store is no simple task – just ask any up-and-coming student designer. Recognizing the importance of engaging shoppers in the in-store environment – both visually and physically – POPAI and Pepsi today announced the launch of the 2012 Student Display Design Competition.

The competition celebrates student achievement reflecting the powerful convergence of creative marketing and design in the retail setting. The competition, which will showcase individual projects created specifically for Pepsi, honors the most talented and promising student graphic designers, illustrators, and visual communicators from the world's top institutions of higher education.

"POPAI is proud to continue its commitment to supporting education initiatives by encouraging creativity and self-expression in students through the art of design and production," said POPAI President Richard Winter. "This competition will serve to recognize the best and brightest students, as well as the significant commitment of their instructors while introducing the marketing at retail industry to the creative talents of tomorrow, today."

The 2012 Student Display Design Competition is made possible by a partnership between Pepsi and POPAI. The 2012 competition, the first of its kind for the marketing at retail industry, challenges entrants to design in-store marketing materials that leverage shopper insights to help promote Pepsi products at the critical point-of-purchase.

"As in-store marketing grows in importance and marketers focus more at winning over shoppers at the shelf, one discipline is seeing its star rise: design," said Leslie Nagy, Senior Director, Marketing Services & Licensing at Pepsi Beverages North America. "Great design has always had its place in the retail environment, but great design that leverages critical shopper insights is the path forward and we're happy to help blaze that trail."

The competition is open to all students who are of 18 years of age or older and are currently enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs in advertising, communications, creative arts, engineering, graphic design, illustration, and new media.

Each submission will be judged on the effective use of the latest display techniques, materials, and overall creative ingenuity.  In addition, judges will consider the real-world applicability of the design, evaluate the utilization of marketing and branding strategies reflective of Pepsi, and examine how the design leverages the shopper insights provided by Pepsi in the creative brief.

The top 10 finalists will be announced on January 31, 2012.  The competition winner will be honored during the 2012 POPAI Awards Celebration held in conjunction with GlobalShop and the 2012 Outstanding Merchandising Achievement (OMA) Awards Contest on March 1, 2012.

For more information please visit www.popai.com/studentdesign

About POPAI
For 75 years POPAI has served as the leading international advocate and voice of the marketing at retail industry. With chapters worldwide, serving over 1,700 members internationally, POPAI promotes, protects and advances the broader interests of the marketing at retail community through original research, certified education, showcasing industry excellence, trade forums and protecting intellectual and legislative rights. For more information, please visit http://www.popai.com

About Pepsi
Pepsi-Cola Beverages North America is a division of PepsiCo. PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales each. Our main businesses -- Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay, and Pepsi Cola -- also make hundreds of other enjoyable and wholesome foods and beverages that are respected household names throughout the world. With net revenues of approximately $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth by investing in a healthier future for people and our planet, which we believe also means a more successful future for PepsiCo. We call this commitment Performance with Purpose: PepsiCo's promise to provide a wide range of foods and beverages for local tastes; to find innovative ways to minimize our impact on the environment, including by conserving energy and water usage, and reducing packaging volume; to provide a great workplace for our associates; and to respect, support, and invest in the local communities where we operate. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE POPAI