Coca-Cola has joined the likes of Nike and Amazon in the top 20 of Fast Company’s annual ranking of the world’s 50 most innovative companies, coming in at No. 14.Fast Company credits Coke with “turning a gigantic brand into a nimble marketing collective.”  “The TV spot was once the center of Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy. Now, Coke is on to a new era of delightful, shareable online content,” writes Christine Champagne. The Fast Company editorial team spent months gathering and analyzing data to identify the enterprises whose innovations are having the greatest impacts both on their respective industries and global culture as a whole. The publication cited four big wins that earned Coca-Cola its first-ever spot on the elite list: Sticking to the Message Coca-Cola has a great story to tell, so why not keep telling it?  Coke inspires moments of optimism and happiness, an enduring message told simply and beautifully in the “Security Cameras” ad. The spot – which TED included on its 2013 “Ads Worth Spreading” list – captured security camera footage of random acts of kindness, at the same time, captured hearts around the world. Mixing Novel with Nostalgia Coca-Cola continues to make its mark with novel innovations, such as vending machines in Brazil that dispense free mobile data credits. But the brand also delights fans through iconic symbols like the Coca-Cola Polar Bear. Audiences first met the Polar Bears in 1992, but they still enjoy face-time 11 years later. In 2012, football fans were invited to engage with these loveable characters via social media as they tuned in to watch the Big Game “live from the arctic.” Owning Big Moments  Coke has a way of stealing the show.  For the 2012 Olympic Games, Coca-Cola launched “Move to the Beat,” which doubled as a marketing campaign and a tool to communicate about physical activity and energy balance by combining the talents of Grammy-winning producer Mark Ronson and chart-topping vocalist Katy B. Together, they created an inspirational anthem that fused the sounds of Olympic sports with the beat of London music. Embracing Outside Creativity Coke has a passion for innovative ideas and goes out of its way to leverage collective genius. The company won accolades at Cannes for a bus shelter ad created by a 20-year-old design student and Coca-Cola fan from Hong Kong.

Recycled syrup bottles to help restore watersheds.

Not since the days of the friendly neighborhood soda jerk have so many people fallen in love with a beverage dispenser. But that’s been the standard reaction to Coca-Cola’s revolutionary Coca-Cola Freestyle machine, which has quickly become a star attraction at thousands of restaurants across the United States and in some international markets. Offering a Countless Array of Beverages There is nothing like Coca-Cola Freestyle in the world of self-serve drink machines. While other beverage dispensers offer between six and eight drink choices, Coca-Cola Freestyle is equipped with an easy-to-use touchscreen that allows users to dispense more than 100 individual brands, including some, like Diet Raspberry Coke, that aren't available anywhere else. That’s more drink choices than one can get at some retail outlets. So how does Coke fit all those beverages into one machine? Instead of using the large boxes of syrup found in conventional machines, Coca-Cola Freestyle dispenses different drinks by leveraging small cartridges of micro-dosed ingredients to create a multitude of choices. The cartridges fit snugly inside the machine, and technology within the machine identifies when each brand is low and needs to be replaced. Sleek, Easy-to-Use and Fun The innovative Coca-Cola Freestyle is wrapped in a sleek inviting design, which was developed by Coca-Cola’s Industrial Design Team in concert with outside partners, including the Italian firm Pininfarina Extra, which also does design work for iconic carmaker Ferrari. The result: Consumers are revved up over Coca-Cola Freestyle’s ease of use, engaging digital display and the enormous selection of beverage brands. And the fact that it’s just plain fun makes it even more appealing. Coca-Cola Freestyle isn’t only a blast, it’s good for business too. The ultimate drink experience has boosted sales and increased guest traffic for the restaurants that boast the machines. “We’ve proven prelaunch and in-market that when a restaurant has Coca-Cola Freestyle, their traffic, incidence and beverage servings grow anywhere from single to double digits,” says Jennifer Mann, VP and general manager, Coca-Cola Freestyle. “We also know that when a restaurant has Coca-Cola Freestyle, the perceptions of the restaurant brand improves.”  Mike Walsh, who owns seven Moe’s Southwest Grill restaurants in New York, has Coca-Cola Freestyle machines in his two newest locations. “Our customers love it,” Walsh says. “When we opened our two new stores everybody was mesmerized by it. It’s definitely a good business driver.”  The Moe’s franchisee is now busy converting his other five stores into Coca-Cola Freestyle locations. After testing Coca-Cola Freestyle in some of its stores in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, the Moe’s chain saw comparable sales jump by 9 percent. The company now requires all new franchises to have Coca-Cola Freestyle inside. Coca-Cola Freestyle is already found in more than 1,500 U.S Burger King restaurants, with plans to have 2,000 by the end of the year, representing about 30 percent of its system. Burger King also introduced Coca-Cola Freestyle in 16 of its restaurants in London as part of a limited-scale trial just before the Olympics this summer. “Their guests love the new brand varieties, many of which they cannot buy at the store, like Coke Zero with Orange or Fanta Zero Peach,” says Jim Andrist, vice president of North America sales for Coca-Cola’s Burger King Account Team. “Guests also love the fresh taste, the intense aromas of the flavored beverages, and the perfect carbonation of each drink. Those things, along with the fun touchscreen interface are the magic of Coca-Cola freestyle.” Andrist says Burger King restaurants have seen a positive impact on their business from Coca-Cola Freestyle. Restaurants that offer the technology are reporting increases in guest counts, drink incidence and profits. While many people have been discovering Coca-Cola Freestyle on their own — or through word of mouth from their friends — Coca-Cola has been rolling out new Coca-Cola Freestyle machines along with its Fountain of You marketing campaign that focuses on integrating people directly with the Coca-Cola Freestyle experience to communicate how consumers describe the experience of having the choice and freedom to choose the beverage that’s right for them. The Fountain of You campaign is running in four test markets in the U.S.: Chicago, Orlando, Atlanta and Houston. Within these test markets, consumers have the chance to check out the Coca-Cola Freestyle sampling truck at various theme parks, festivals and sports events. The truck allows people to try the 100-plus drink choices and get cozy with the Coca-Cola Freestyle brand. Keeping Coca-Cola Freestyle Fans in the Loop How many machines do you know that tweet? Coca-Cola Freestyle does. Followers of @ccfreestyle can stay up-to-date on new Coca-Cola Freestyle locations and learn where they can find the Coca-Cola Freestyle sampling truck.  Besides being synced with Twitter, the Coca-Cola Freestyle website is integrated with Facebook and includes a digital postcard feature so visitors can share their favorite brands with friends and followers. Fans simply enter their zip code to see a map displaying the nearest Coca-Cola Freestyle machines. And with the free app available for Android and iPhone, it's easy to locate the nearest Coca-Cola Freestyle machine and play an interactive memory game featuring the machine’s myriad brands.