Brands

Leave it to Fanta to inject some flavor – literally – into the somewhat staid medium of print advertising. While preparing to re-launch Fanta orange in the Middle East, the brains behind the brand needed a breakthrough idea to get people to try – and talk about – the new-and-improved taste. The solution? A fully edible ad printed on rice paper and infused with the super-secret Fanta formula. The copy describes the new taste and invites readers to remove the ad from its protective sleeve, tear off a piece and bite into it. Take a look. “Fanta is all about bringing back play to seemingly boring situations where it has evaporated,” explains Tarun Sabhlok, group brand manager, flavors, Coca-Cola Middle East. “With the launch of our new orangey taste, we wanted to create a multisensory experience people would remember and want to share with their friends.” After debuting in a Dubai-based lifestyle magazine earlier this year, the ad quickly generated a buzz within the global advertising community and among Fanta fans via social media. Additional publications across the Middle East will launch it in the coming weeks. The ad is part of a broader campaign showcasing the orangey sights, sounds and taste of Fanta. Motion sensor-enabled retail displays release an orange aroma and alert shoppers with an audio message as they approach, and a creative Facebook app lets consumers record a “slurping” sound to virtually drink the luscious orange liquid as it fills their computer screens and compete with friends online.  More Stories About Fanta:Fanta ChaseFanta BloopersRecipe: Exotic Melon Noijito

We recently introduced you to Coke’s Venturing & Emerging Brands (VEB) unit and explored the team’s approach to investing in small brands with big potential. Today we hear from the entrepreneur behind the newest beverage to join the VEB portfolio – Steve Jones of Core Power – on how partnering with Coke has enabled the mission-driven brand to go further faster. Tell us a bit about Core Power and how Fair Oaks Farms Brands – its parent company – came to be.The mission of Fair Oaks Farms Brands is to build a branded health and wellness platform, powered by the nutrition of dairy, in a wide portfolio of great-tasting products that allow you to live life to the fullest. It all starts with responsible agriculture and animal care you can trust. Our vision is that Fair Oaks Farms Brands will play a leadership role in us having a very healthy productive planet full of very healthy people as our population expands.All great beverage companies start with a great product. And our great product starts with dairy farming. A few years ago, Mike McCloskey – a veterinarian with a doctorate in large animal agriculture – had a vision to produce higher-quality milk by significantly raising the standards for how cows are raised, fed and treated. He sold his vet practice and bought a dairy farm, followed by bigger farms, and eventually formed a progressive dairy co-op in the Southwest. Along the way, he developed and patented a membrane filtration system. This process allows us to separate the five parts of milk, increase the good parts like protein and calcium, and reduce the negatives like lactose without adding preservatives or powders. When you combine sensational-quality milk with this proprietary technology, you get Core Power. One of our most distinguishing qualities is our ingredient list, which is only four lines long. That’s what makes it taste so great. Core Power is marketed as a high-protein sports recovery beverage. But athletes are not the only people who need protein. When we exert ourselves, our muscles lose protein. We need protein to regain strength and build lean muscle. And since our bodies don’t produce enough protein, we need to ingest it. Mike launched the product as Athlete’s HoneyMilk in 2010. I came onboard about that time as an advisor before making a full-time commitment at the end of 2010. We re-launched the brand under the Core Power name in 2012 when Coca-Cola Refreshments started distributing the product last July in Texas, then Colorado. Now we’re in several states in the West, Midwest and Northeast, and a national rollout is underway. How did you connect with VEB? We were not really seeking funding at the time because we were, and still are, a very young company. But we quickly realized that only Coca-Cola could help us do what we hope to do. VEB fully understood and appreciated the Select Milk Producers story and the potential we have to transform an old-fashioned category into a high-growth, high-margin business. They saw an opportunity to get in early on something they believe can become a billion-dollar brand. And they also recognized that we’re not a one-hit wonder… our technology enables us to use protein in so many ways and unleash the full nutritional power of dairy. What specifically did Coke bring to the table? Distribution and marketing are two things all start-up brands need. We knew that only the Coke system could get Core Power into the outlets we need to succeed through their reach and customer relationships. To us, it was an opportunity to go further faster. In a prior life, you were chief marketing officer at Coca-Cola and president of The Minute Maid Company. As a Coke exec-turned-entrepreneur, how would you describe the company’s evolution? Coca-Cola has evolved into an informed and engaged player in the entrepreneurial space. Somewhere along the way, they came to the realization that while they may not invent the next big thing themselves, they should be out there discovering opportunities and forming these partnerships early on. VEB has built a keen understanding and tolerance for the high-risk nature of the entrepreneurial world. And they’re not only interested in investing in emerging brands, but also helping the entrepreneurial community at large become more successful. The VEB team goes to great lengths to help these entrepreneurs, including many they’ll never partner with.

Coca-Cola is putting a fun, fresh twist on “Opening Happiness” through a social music project called the Coca-Cola Remix Bottle. Young Japanese DJ-inventor Jun Fujiwara Fujiwara embedded a sound-recording device inside a Coca-Cola bottle, hit the streets of Tokyo. The bottle captured everyday sounds when opened, which could be immediately played back by closing and reopening the bottle. The aural snippets were later overlaid with the familiar “psssttt” sound created by opening a Coke bottle and remixed into shareable music tracks. “There is no mistaking the sound you hear when you open a bottle of Coca-Cola,” said Leonardo O’Grady, ASEAN IMC director, Coca-Cola. “With the Coca-Cola Remix Bottle, we have given the classic opening ritual a new twist. By remixing everyday sounds, we have reinvented the sound of happiness whether it’s from a busy street, children playing or people involved in sport.” The remixes are available at www.cokeremixbottle.com as free downloadable ringtones and music videos.More Stories on InnovationBeyond Billboards: These Outdoor Ads Take Creativity to New HeightsPlay Fanta: Brand Unveils Multi-Screen Storytelling FranchiseAds Worth Spreading: Coke's 'Security Cameras' Makes TED's Coveted List

Coca-Cola collectors, bloggers and employees from Singapore and Malaysia recently were treated to an exclusive meet-and-greet session with Ted Ryan, Coke’s director of heritage communications. Ryan hosted a breakfast at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore to showcase several Coca-Cola collectibles, including a Coca-Cola yo-yo set from the 1980s and a replica of the first Coca-Cola six-pack carton from 1923, as well as ads in Singapore from the 1950s created in different languages to reach the country's diverse population. The April 13 session kicked off with an interactive quiz, which educated attendees about iconic milestones in the brand’s history, such as the years Coca-Cola launched into space and the Coca-Cola Polar Bear made its debut. Prizes ranged from Coca-Cola puzzle sets to vintage Coca-Cola straw holders, specially shipped from the Coca-Cola Store in Atlanta. Ryan also explored the company’s longstanding commitment to promoting active, healthy lifestyles, showing an old Coca-Cola ad featuring a cyclist, the brand’s first celebrity sportsperson. Ryan also walked the audience through product and package innovations through the years, noting how the company has expanded its portfolio from a single beverage in a single package, to more than 3,500 choices worldwide.The highlight of the session was a charity auction, where attendees bid on Coca-Cola collectibles such as vintage Coca-Cola thermostats, original Coca-Cola calendars from the 1970s and an unopened Coca-Cola centennial coffee-table book. An original piece of sheet music from the first Coca-Cola radio show in 1927 drew the highest bid. Proceeds from the auction went to the Singapore Red Cross (SRC), with Coca-Cola Singapore matching dollar for dollar for a total contribution of SGD1,300 ($1,050). The money will support the SRC’s Food Aid Program. Coca-Cola Singapore organizes gatherings with Coca-Cola collectors and bloggers at least once a year. “It was great that Coca-Cola Singapore was able to make this event possible,” said Kannie Yeo, president, Singapore Coca-Cola Collectors Club. “Having enthusiastic Singapore Coke Collectors meeting up with Ted was an unforgettable moment. We learned more about the history and heritage of Coca-Cola... there is always something new to learn.” Coca-Cola has had a long-term relationship with the SRC, founded in 1917. During World War I, Coca-Cola supported Red Cross fundraising campaigns. The company works with the Red Cross and Red Crescent in more than 50 countries globally. “The Red Cross has an enduring partnership with Coca-Cola, both globally and locally,” said Chris Tan, head of fundraising, SRC. “Personally, it was exciting to have had a glimpse of the company’s merchandize evolution over the years. The fundraising auction is a wonderful extension of our collaboration. We look forward to continuing our rapport with Coca-Cola, to bring greater service to vulnerable people.” In November 2011, Coca-Cola Singapore and the Singapore Red Cross Society announced a partnership to promote blood donation in Singapore. “Meeting these collectors and getting to experience their passion for everything Coca-Cola made for an inspiring morning,” said Ryan, who blogged about his trip on Coca-Cola Conversations. “It was a pleasure to contribute the items for the auction to raise money for the Red Cross, but the enthusiasm of the people was contagious and will be the memory I take away from my day in Singapore.” Watch TV coverage of the session here and here, and read a local blogger’s report here.More Stories for CollectorsBringing History to Life: The Art of ConservationArchivist Phil Mooney Reflects on 35 Years of Preserving Coke's History and Helping Shape it's FutureCoca-Cola Collectors ClubInformation for CollectorsA Collector's Perspective

Coca-Cola Journey reimagined the launch of New Coke in the digital era with a story on its anniversary some 28 years later. In 1985, it took 79 days to bring back Coca-Cola in the original formula, labeled as “Coca-Cola Classic.” Given the amplified voice of the consumer in the era of social media, how long do you think it would take to return the original formula to the market if New Coke had been introduced today? Less than two weeks? More than two weeks? Let us know what you think!

Much has been made lately of social media marketing perhaps not pulling its weight in terms of business results. Indeed, a recent study from my own company suggested that social buzz or chatter does not generate sales lift. And, taken in isolation, this is true. But, today’s progressive marketers know better. None of our plans are simply social, or TV, or mobile or experiential. On the contrary, it’s the combination of owned, earned, shared and paid media connections – with social playing a crucial role at the heart of our activations – that creates marketplace impact, consumer engagement, brand love and brand value. We’ve known this for some time. Our global toolkit for the London 2012 Olympic Games Move to the Beat campaign, which we activated in more than 110 countries, included 60 different types of content. From our 60-minute documentary on the making of our global anthem with Mark Ronson that we cut into shareable webisodes and mobisodes, to our Beat Maker app, which let consumers create their own beats as ringtones and upload them to the Global Beat on Facebook, all elements were built around the central idea of Moving to the Beat of the London Games, and all were built to be shared easily to drive reach and engagement. Reach, engagement, love and value are the markers of success we use for our campaigns. We measure these in a variety of ways, often with our media partners. In beta testing with Facebook, we’ve been able to track closed-loop sales from site exposure to in-store purchase with very promising initial results that are above norms for what we see with other media. But again, no single medium is as strong as the combination of media. We see this first-hand in our campaigns that integrate TV and social. We know our target consumers – teens and young adults – are consuming media on multiple screens in single sessions. This means the TV is on, a laptop is open and a smartphone is in hand. For marketers, this requires having a single, integrated conversation across those screens. When we do this well, we create significantly higher impact than any of those screens could do on their own. Our last two years of results with our Big Game campaigns are great examples of this multi-screen approach and impact.As it is for all marketers, integrating so many moving parts in real time and with a constantly changing brand dialogue isn’t easy. These are new skills and capabilities, and we don’t always get it right. But we’re trying, we’re learning and we’re unquestionably committed to continuing the journey of executing wholly integrated campaigns, with social at the heart, to fuel better outcomes and impact for our company.More Business Stories:Social Media Brings Coca-Cola Korea Closer to Friends of the BrandCoca-Cola's Wendy Clark on the Power of Social MediaCoca-Cola Big Game Campaign Drives Over 11 Million Fan Engagements