Pepsi Used QR Codes and Signage to Promote Recycling at UEFA Champions League Final

The quest for sustainability in stadiums usually starts with drinkware.

In Europe, one of the biggest sporting events of the year is the UEFA Champions League Final. As part of the men's and women's games in Istanbul, Turkey and Eindhoven, Netherlands, respectively, Pepsi rolled out a new recycling initiative that included not only reusable drinkware, but specialty stations that included print features like QR codes and signage to motivate guests to properly dispose of their cups.

Pepsi products were poured into reusable cups that will remain in the stadiums for future events, and food was provided on reusable trays.

In Istanbul, outside the Atatürk Olympic Stadium was provided 220 branded recycling bins for collecting items like cups and bags of chips. Pepsi partnered with the stat-up TURN for special bins that featured QR codes where attendees could receive things like branded smartphone wallpaper and the chance to win UCL Final tickets.

"It’s a win-win for everyone," Mark Kirkham, PepsiCo chief marketing officer, told Packaging Europe.

This initiative combines a few different trends in the current world of food and drink and stadium promos. The first is obviously environmental drinkware and a focus on recycling. At the Super Bowl a few years ago, Ball Corp. provided reusable aluminum cans for beer, which featured the Bud Light logo.

Fast food restaurants, especially in Europe, are working on programs using reusable trays and packaging for food, too, with a greater focus on limiting single-use packaging and paper.

Finally, this incorporates signage and QR codes, which have really become part of daily life following the pandemic, to put the whole process together and incentivize people to use the recycling program effectively.

Something as simple as a branded recycling bin with clear marketings to indicate how and where people should dispose of their cups can make a huge difference in an environmental initiative. It can be the difference between good intentions and a good result.

Most importantly, all of this reflects the Pepsi brand, since it's all branded with their logo, and incorporates a digital factor, too, with the branded wallpapers. So, from start to finish, first impression to last sip, this becomes a way for Pepsi to ensure that its brand is viewed positively on such a large scale.