Coca Cola - own it

Coca-cola make-it

I think we can all agree that Coke is a very controversial company. Although Coca Cola has been proved unhealthy by scientists over and over again the enterprise is still on top of their game and sells more soft drinks then ever. Coca Cola is bad for your health and weakens your immune sytem. However none of these facts stop people from buying Coke on the daily basis. What does Coke do so well that alhough they have a sizable portion of negative press they can still encourage people to buy their products?

Is it the taste?

Is it the packaging?

The answer for both of the questions is: No! They have an amazing marketing team whom discovered that the customers of the company choose the brand because of the experiences they associate the Coke name with

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Just think about it...

When do you think it is official that the Christmas period has arrived? When the streets are all dressed up in christmas decoration and the same old christmas songs are being played by all the radio stations and in all the shops? No, Christmas officially arrives when Coke’s Christmas advert is on TV for the first time. It has been like this since I was a little kid. Like it or not, people do associate the holiday season with the brand. However the Christmas advert is mostly important because it has become a tradition, Coke lately created many experience marketing campaigns.

I just picked a few of my favorites which I felt personaly engaged with. Because in the end of the day that is what the Coke is best at: to influence people’s emotion.

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My first pick is the Friendship Machine. Coke placed a machine in a busy shopping mall with the slight change from the regular machines: it was two times higher. They offered the customers two cans of Coca Cola for the price of one (at least for those who could reach the coin hole). The way of getting your bevarege was to find a friend who helps you to reach the top. This ’excercise’ made people reconsider the importance of friendship, the importance of having someone to help you out in a dificult situation. Would you remember the effect of the Coca Cola has on your health after this experience or would you remember the specal way it made you feel? Would you ever buy a Coke again?

My second one is the ’007 Experience'. Customers had the chance while purchasing a Coca Cola to win an exclusive ticket to the premier of James Bond Skyfall as well. However it wasn't one of those games when you just sent in an e-mail and if you got lucky they picked you. Contestants had to comlete a ’mission’ which they had 70 seconds for. The excitement of the players was obvious while watching them rushing through the busy train station. Would you remember the bad effect of the Coca Cola has on your health after this experience or would you remember the specal way it made you feel? Would you ever buy a Coke again?

The third and last campaign I choose was a world-wide ’movement’, namely when Coke started to sell their bottles with names on it. Everyone wanted their ’own bottle of Coke Cola’ and everyone felt special buy drinking the beverage from a personalised bottle (and the company sold more Coke Cole then ever). Don’t we all like to feel differet sometimes? And considering the uniqueness of the campaign let me ask you something for the last time: Would you remember the bad effect of the Coca Cola has on your health after this experience or would you remember the special way it made you feel? Would you ever buy a Coke again?

Looking at all these campaigns we can say that although Coca Cola is not one of the healthiest beverages on the world it is a very popular brand because it involves its customers, makes them feel part of the brand. Coke is one of the best examples of the efficient use of experiential marketing.