Smart Agency Masterclass with Jason Swenk: Podcast for Digital Marketing Agencies

Pepsi Paid $2 Billion for Gut Soda?! Here’s What Your Agency Should Be Doing Right Now

Jun 17, 2025

Pepsi's jaw-dropping $2 billion acquisition of Poppi highlights the power of unique branding. The discussion centers on how agencies can help clients break free from boring, traditional marketing. By using innovative strategies and the 'Hell Yes Framework,' agencies can transform their clients into memorable brands. The conversation emphasizes the shift from being mere vendors to becoming essential partners in brand evolution. It's all about winning by being different in a crowded market, where cultural relevance and storytelling can lead to remarkable success.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Poppi's $2B Win by Being Different

Poppi's $2 billion acquisition shows winning by being culturally different, not bigger spenders.
They disrupted a stagnant category by telling a distinct story and building undeniable cultural relevance.

ADVICE

Agencies Must Help Clients Stand Out

Agencies must help clients break free from boring, safe branding and instead build bold, loved brands.
Your role is transforming clients from forgettable to followed, shared, and loved, not just funnel tweaks.

ANECDOTE

Agency Growth Through Positioning

Zach got $800k clients by leaning into niche and clarifying his agency's positioning, without changing services.
Jack rebuilt his offer around passion and grew from burnout to running a multimillion-dollar agency loving it.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Would you like access to our advanced agency training for FREE? https://www.agencymastery360.com/training

00:00 The "Poppi" acquisition and winning by being different 00:30 Brands need agencies to help them “stand out” 01:30 Agency's role: From vendor to transformation partner 02:00 Transformative client results through positioning 02:50 Five tactics for agencies to help clients win differently 04:10 The "Hell Yes" framework for brand building

Pepsi just dropped $2 billion to acquire Poppi.

Let that sink in.

A gut-health soda brand that didn’t even exist a decade ago is now a multibillion-dollar player — without some bloated VC war chest or Super Bowl ads. Why? Because they didn’t just sell a drink. They sold vitality without boredom.

Just like Liquid Death isn’t selling water. They’re selling rebellion in a can.

This matters to you because your agency clients are still playing the safe game. Bland branding. Forgettable messaging. Funnel tweaks and ad spend tricks. But the world doesn’t reward better. It rewards different. And that’s where you come in.

Your Agency’s Real Role

You're not here to push pixels or track conversions. You're here to make your clients matter. To help them stop blending in and start building brands that get followed, shared, and loved.

In this episode we’ll break down exactly how to do that—with a proven playbook called the “HELL YES” Framework.

But first, let’s look at what these breakout brands got right.

The Big Brand Lessons (You Should Be Using)

Help Clients Define What They Believe in (And What They’re Against). Poppi didn’t sell soda. They sold gut health. Liquid Death didn’t sell water. They sold identity. Brands that break out don’t try to be better. They choose to be louder about what they stand for.
Build a Brand that Lives Beyond The Product. Help them create their presence in culture. What’s the founders point of view? What’s the audience they want to turn into a community. From reels & TikTok make sure that message is out there.
Package. Reframe offer as outcomes, not service.
Teach them to Create Demand. Help them post scroll-stopping content that really builds trust from someone that’ll want to learn more.
Help Them Become Known for Something. Your clients will need a signature method that is repeatable and has a catchy name. That’s how they’ll own a category.

The HELL YES Framework (How to Build Brands That Get Followed)

Here’s the full breakdown from Jason’s playbook:

H – Hook with a Belief Choose a bold POV. Rally people around something real. Don’t try to please everyone—draw a line.

E – Elevate the Outcome Sell transformation, not tasks. Rename and reframe. “The Visibility Engine” beats “SEO setup” every time.

L – Lead with Culture Get them living where the culture lives—Reels, TikTok, Shorts. Turn content into a vibe.

L – Lock in Their Framework Give their offer a name. A method. A repeatable process. That’s how they own a category.

Y – Yield to Simplicity Kill the fluff. Be painfully clear. One offer. One CTA. No jargon.

E – Engineer the Experience Make onboarding and delivery unforgettable. Brand the process. Delight people.

S – Share the Wins Loud Don’t just toss out metrics—tell the story. Make the transformation the headline.

Real Talk: You’re Sitting on the Solution

You’ve already got the skills. The strategy. The services. What your agency really needs is a sharper positioning and a clearer method — just like Zach and Jack did.

Whether you’re stuck pitching work that doesn’t excite you anymore or just tired of clients treating you like a vendor, the shift starts here.

And if you’re ready to build a brand that people don’t just buy from, but believe in…

Let’s stop chasing better. Start building bolder.

Because when your agency leads movements, not just marketing—you become unforgettable.

Agency Mastermind

Still feel like you’re winging it? You're not alone. Most agency owners hit a plateau because they're stuck in the business, buried in decisions, and disconnected from people who get it. The agencies killing it and scaling faster found out they needed to be in the right room. Go to https://www.agencymastery360.com/agency-mastery and get access to a community of agency owners sharing their data, deals, strategies, and mindset shifts.