The question of whether consumers care about the corporate parentage of their snack foods has been settled, more or less, for decades. They do not. And yet the question keeps getting asked, usually by the corporations themselves.

PepsiCo, the Purchase, N.Y., food and beverage giant whose portfolio includes Frito-Lay, Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade alongside its namesake cola, has embarked on a branding campaign intended to strengthen the connection between its individual product lines and the mother ship. The effort raises a familiar issue that has vexed packaged-goods marketers since at least the 1980s: whether the corporate brand adds value to the consumer relationship, or whether it is simply a point of pride for the executives in the corner offices.

Marketing professionals who spoke about the campaign were, to put it gently, skeptical.

The challenge facing PepsiCo is one that its chief rival, Coca-Cola, has largely avoided by keeping its corporate identity closely aligned with its flagship beverage. PepsiCo, by contrast, has spent years building what the industry calls a "house of brands" — a structure in which Doritos and Mountain Dew and Quaker Oats each stand on their own, with the corporate name appearing mainly in the fine print and the annual report.

Whether that structure can be retrofitted to include a more prominent corporate presence remains to be seen. (The annual report, after all, is not typically considered a high-engagement medium.)

The skepticism among marketers reflects a broader truth about the grocery aisle: shoppers reach for the chip bag, not the holding company. PepsiCo may well have sound strategic reasons for the initiative — investor relations, employee recruitment, a general desire to be loved — but the path from corporate branding to consumer affection has always been, at best, indirect.

The company, for its part, says it believes the connection matters. Consumers, as usual, have not been asked to comment.

Original story published in adage.com: "Marketers question PepsiCo's latest branding campaign - Ad Age"