“Being a Fan, Follower or Friend does not mean they opted in to have advertising blasted at them.”
– Michael Donnelly, Worldwide Interactive Marketing
Nearly six thousand times a day, people talk about why Coca-Cola is their brand. They do it with creative content that gets noticed and demonstrates an authentic LOVE for the brand. Some of these conversations are a natural outgrowth of Coca-Cola’s brand, others happen because Coke asks for it:
“Where have you had a Coke lately?”
“Coca-Cola invites you to upload a photo of the next Coke you drink.”
“Coca-Cola wants to know: What’s your favorite time of day to enjoy an ice-cold Coca-Cola?”
Coke’s brand managers track these conversations, finding the most-used word with “Coke” is “LOVE.” How do consumers come to “love” a brand?
Coke is one of the few brands that have been present throughout several generations, and will be for generations to come. It’s reliable. Dependable. Always there. Traveling to Indonesia, I went through Taiwan, then to Bali. Then to the island of Sumba. Then to rural villages, where livestock shares the road. In every stop, there was Coke. Then finally to a place too remote for electricity. Then even further to villages where currency takes the form of livestock and cigarettes. Coke has literally “painted the world red.” It’s natural that Coke will be where people are online as well.
Mr. Donnelly, the architect behind the world’s largest social media campaign, says that his team’s social media strategy is to put fans first. “Less about us, more about them.” As a result, Coke fans interact with the Coke brand and each other more than any other online brand. Donnelly says traditional marketing campaigns ”abandoned the audience” after completion. Campaigns based on sustainable relationships “leverage the existing audience and grow it for future use.”
To create even more highly compelling content, Coca-Cola will soon be embarking on a world “Expedition of Happiness,” taking a crew to 206 countries in one year to see first-hand how Coke brings happiness throughout the world. “We will be everywhere our consumers are in an authentic, member-of-the-community, non big brand way,” Donnelly said. He summarized Coke’s social media strategy this way:
- Fish where the fish are
- Integrate ‘common social solutions’ into existing campaigns (Facebook, Twitter)
- Optimize functionality that already exists (Event invites)
- Create new functionality, if needed (Web and iPhone apps)
- Have clear principals to insure everyone and everything is aligned
- Learn from experience
2 comments ↓
How about the novel idea of offering a healthy product? High fructose corn syrup is damaging the health of this country and they are concerned about ‘optimizing functionality.’ Rent King Corn from Netflix or HSPLS for more info on high fructose corn syrup. Perhaps Coke has a healthy line out now; I haven’t checked lately.
Oh, I appreciate a fizzy drink once in a while. Like most good things, must be taken in moderation. Water is much better for your health and has zero calaries, but I do not personally find it as fun or enjoyable as Coke. And for me, my life values permit a certain amount of pleasure as part of being alive. When consumed in excessive amounts (each can of Coke has 39 grams of high fructose sugar), then yes — it can cause enormous pain and suffering, not only for the person who drinks several cans a day, but also for their friends, family and the community that shares the burden of their healthcare costs. Please drink responsibly!
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