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PepsiCo brochure explains merger's effects on benefits

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When PepsiCo Inc. merged with The Quaker Oats Co. in August 2001, the soft drink company wanted to ensure a smooth and successful transition for the 3,500 Quaker employees who would be joining PepsiCo's benefits program.

One key element to easing that change was a four-color brochure that not only informed Quaker employees about their transitional and new benefits, but also welcomed them to the PepsiCo team.

PepsiCo's "Growing Stronger with PepsiCo Benefits" won the Award of Excellence in the 2002 Business Insurance Employee Benefits Communication Awards competition in the multisubject booklet category.

"This was the first communication going out from PepsiCo to the Quaker audience," said Peter Dattilo, president of Dakota Group Inc., the Wilton, Conn.-based creative consulting firm that helped PepsiCo's benefits communication team develop the materials. "Like any other merger, Pepsi was sensitive to the first communication and how it would be received."

One of the challenges PepsiCo faced was that although Quaker employees were receiving some new benefits with PepsiCo, other Quaker benefits-namely, a lucrative employee stock ownership program-were being eliminated.

The goal of the communication project was to highlight the positive benefits changes and minimize the negative perception of other changes, Mr. Dattilo said.

The employers' 15-page brochure uses charts, graphs and photos to welcome employees to the company and to highlight and detail key benefit offerings. It also includes a calendar of events that clearly outlines what has happened in the merger and what employees can expect in the future with regard to their benefits.

"We wanted to keep it simple, and we also wanted to use bright colors to give it a positive, upbeat attitude," said Gerry Hawkings, creative director at the Dakota Group, who also worked on the project.

The approximate cost of producing the brochure, which was mailed to the employees' homes, was $30,000.