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

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