The Big Fizz at PepsiCo

A fairly fascinating look at the man agitating for all the change at PepsiCo. Including a peek into the Big Bang project that had the company simultaneously redesigning seven brands, creating brand manifestos, and generating Super Bowl ads.

Companies often perfect each stage of a rebranding plan before moving on to the next one. For example, the design agency typically settles on a logo before handing off to the people working on the package. To save time, d'Amore decided to adopt the so-called concurrent model: design the logos, create the packaging, shoot the TV commercials, and so forth simultaneously. He acknowledges that this is riskier but insists the enhanced speed and agility are worth it. "Aiming for perfection is the enemy of good progress," d'Amore says. And if getting the project done in time meant inserting himself in the creative process—highly unusual for a CEO—then so be it. After all, he had marketing experience.

Also, he's something of a hands-on manager:

One of the first Arnell-d'Amore productions was a TV spot for SoBe Lifewater, a beverage d'Amore wanted to reposition to take on Coca-Cola's (KO) vitaminwater. It was an early glimpse of d'Amore's management style. After giving the job to Arnell Group, he fired SoBe's existing ad agency, Bartle Bogle Hegarty. He and Arnell then cooked up the idea for the ad together—a sendup of Michael Jackson's Thriller video featuring lizards dancing with model Naomi Campbell. Later, d'Amore flew to Los Angeles to help edit the commercial.

BusinessWeek