Consumers are in for a new experience as Coca-Cola moves to harmonise products under one umbrella, offering consumers’ choice with more clarity.
The ‘One Brand’ global marketing strategy will for the first time ever unite Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, Diet Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Life under the iconic Coca-Cola brand positioning in one global creative campaign ‘Taste the Feeling’.
Addressing a global press conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Dubai Palm Jumeirah last Thursday, the company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Marcos de Quinto, said the new strategy reinforces the company’s commitment to choice, allowing consumers to choose whichever Coca-Cola that suits their taste, lifestyle and diet.
At the event which was attended by about 75 journalist from Eurasia and Africa, Marcos de Quinto enthused that “this campaign is supposed to fulfil 80per cent of the needs of consumers while also responding to the needs of people who want to limit the consumption of sugary drinks as Coca-Cola Zero, Light and Diet made with artificial sugar, will, for the first time, be better positioned.
“We are emphasising that Coca-Cola is for everybody,” de Quinto said. “Coca-Cola is one brand with different variants, all of which share the same values and visual iconography. People want their Coca-Cola in different ways, but whichever one they want, they want a Coca-Cola brand with great taste and refreshment.”
Speaking further, the company’s Chief Marketing Officer explained that the new strategy shows that the company can adapt more quickly to changing consumer needs. “It will do this by making consumers more aware of its low or no calorie variants while strengthening the overall brand.”
Speaking on the new strategy, Nathan Kalumbu, Coca-Cola’s Eurasia and African Group President, said, “This is not just a campaign but a new business approach, a new communication approach to meet the needs of every consumer.”
On the African market, he excitedly said, “We are optimistic about the marketing strategy helping us to enhance the relevance of what African consumers are looking for. The entire campaign will appeal to every consumer as it speaks to all segments of the market.”
“There is virtually no remote area on the African continent that the brand had not penetrated,” said the company’s Eurasia and African Group President. Buttressing his point, he said he was amazed to see Coca-Cola in Dogon, a very remote town in Mali.
Throwing more light on the campaign strategy, Rodolfo Echeverria, Vice President, Global Creative, Connections and Digital, the Coca-Cola company said, “There is nothing quite like the taste of an ice cold Coca-Cola. The campaign creative was designed to celebrate the notion that the simple pleasure of drinking an ice cold Coca-Cola makes any moment more special. A simple pleasure you can access and afford.”
“The universal moments and storytelling depicted in the campaign were created to resonate with our consumers globally. We are going from open Happiness to exploring the role Coca-Cola plays in happiness,” said Rodolfo Echeverria.
‘’ ’Taste the Feeling’ will bring to life the idea that drinking a Coca-Cola is a simple pleasure that makes everyday moments more special. While Coke’s award winning ‘Open Happiness’ campaign leaned heavily on what the brand stands for over the last seven years, ‘Taste the Feeling’ will feature universal story telling with the product at the heart to reflect both the functional and emotional aspects of the Coca-Cola experience,’’ explained Rodolfo Echeverria.
Responding to the question on why the company was embarking on this new approach to business, speaking exclusively to The Nation on Sunday, Coca-Cola’s Chief Marketing Officer disclosed that the company was doing it as the former strategy of multiple brand campaigns was not the logical thing.
“Through the one brand strategy, we will move away from multiple brand campaigns to one single iconic brand campaign that celebrates both the product and the brand,” emphasised de Quinto
He further said, “Over the years, consumer taste, preference and lifestyle have changed, and with that has Coca-Cola. We have innovated to include a range of lower and no sugar and calorie alternatives, each with their own identity.”
However, added de Quinto, “recent research has shown that not everyone understands the options available to them, and the benefits of each drink, which is why we are introducing the new ‘one brand’ strategy to help make the choice easier and simpler.”
The new changes that the company is introducing are that their advertisements will show their full range of Colas. The television advertisements will feature all four variants in the final frame. The new packaging will clearly highlight the benefits of each variant.
Also, the branding of every Coca-Cola can and bottle will be in the same style with different colours to distinguish each variant while the marketing spend for lower, no sugar and calorie colas has been doubled.
The strategy which is expected to roll out all over the world this year has already been launched in the UK and Paris. According to Bobby Brittain, the Brand’s CMO for the UK and Ireland,” ‘The ‘One Brand’ strategy has had a positive effect on sales in the UK. During the 52 weeks ending 25 December, Coke as a trademark grew in the UK. Sales of diet coke and coke zero also increased but coke life was the only variant to see a decline in sales.” The Nation
