Why Coca-Cola is Cannes Creative Marketer of the Year

by Marketing ON 14 June 2013

There are not many companies that have created or experienced the sheer volume of creative and innovative marketing campaigns as The Coca-Cola Company, but it has been its creative resurgence in recent times that has seen the beverage giant regain its marketing mojo.

The announcement that Coke was to take the Cannes Lion Creative Marketer of the Year award home to Atlanta was hardly as a surprise, even more so if you take the time to reflect on just how many campaigns the beverage company have created over the years.

Coke won its first Cannes Lion back in 1967 and has collected over 100 Lions across different advertising and communication catergoies, including a Design Grand Prix in 2008 for the US entry Coca-Cola Identity and, most recently, the 2012 Outdoor Grand Prix win for China for Coke Hands.

Since the manufacture of the now famous contour bottle in 1916, Coca-Cola has consistently maintained a strong brand identity and kept its focus heavily directed towards design. The Company’s advertising, always an important and exciting part of its business, really took off in the 1970s with the brand’s iconic 1971 Hilltop commercial – where a group of young people from all over the world gathered on a hilltop in Italy to sing ‘I’d Like to Buy the World a Coke.’

The 1990s were a time of continued growth for The Coca-Cola Company, reflected in the strengthening of the brand by connecting with wider audiences through its on-going support of the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup.

The industry recognised the resurgence of Coke’s creative mojo in 2007 with the launch of ‘The Coke Side of Life’ and iconic films like Happiness Factory and Videogame, which marked the brand’s return to telling big stories in a fresh, surprising way. Momentum continued to build in 2008 when the Coca-Cola Visual Identity System (VIS) won the first Design Grand Prix at Cannes, and the Company surprised juries yet again in 2011 with small-scale viral films like Friendship Machine.

At the time of the orginal Cannes Lion announcement in November last year, chief executive of Cannes Lions, Philip Thomas said, “The Coca-Cola Company’s restless pursuit of creative innovation in the marketing of its brands across multiple platforms in many different territories has been honoured at Cannes for many years.”

Executive vice president and chief marketing and commercial officer of The Coca-Cola Company, Joe Tripodi, said at the time, “Creativity has been and always will be at the heart of our brands. It fuels our business – with consumers, customers, fans, agencies and partners all over the world. We are honoured by this recognition and grateful to our agencies and partners who inspire and make us better.”

The new issue of Marketing mag is on sale…NOW!

by Marketing ON 4 June 2013

This month you can expect:

Brand Profile:

We spoke with Grill’d founder Simon Crowe on what Grill’d was actually going to be called (Bugger the Cow) and why he ditched it for being too ‘gimmicky’. He also shared some insights about how the brand on everyone’s lips created an entirely new culture of eating in Australia without advertising.

Interview:

We interviewed Coca-Cola’s vice president of global advertising, strategy and content excellence, Jonathan Mildenhall, chats about that video, the balance between thinking and feeling, and what agencies need to do to stay on his roster.

Career Profile:

Caroline Ruddick, general manager, marketing at Australia’s largest B2B accounting software company, MYOB, talks about how a mixture of serendipity and unshakable tenacity has seen her work across an extensive range of marketing roles to New York and back.

FEATURE:

Humanity or technology? Flexibility or strategy? Creativity or analysis? We gaze five years into the future to paint a picture of the CMO of 2018’s core competencies, the key areas of her technical knowledge, and her place in the business.

All that and plenty more, so make like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert and get your copy of Marketing mag NOW!

Coke and Leo Burnett bring peace to the world through vending machines

by Marketing ON 21 May 2013

Coke and Leo Burnett have launched a new initiative called ‘Small World Machines’ which provides a live communications portal through a Coca-Cola vending machine for Indians and Pakistanis to interact with and engage across country borders.

The ‘Small World Machines’ experience was created to provoke happiness in the world through human connections between the two warring countries.

The vending machines were placed in two different locations back in March, one in India and another in Pakistan. People were encouraged to put their differences aside and complete a friendly task together – wave, touch hands, draw a peace sign or do a dance – in order to receive a Coke.

The idea was dreamt up by Leo Burnett, Sydney and brought to life by the combined efforts of Leo Burnett Chicago and Coke.

The ability to virtually unite people via the live portal machines are the first of its kind. to make this possible Coke and Leo Burnett created 3D touchscreen technology to project a streaming live video feed onto the vending machine screen while simultaneously filming through the machine to capture a live emotional exchange.

This technology resembled the act of looking into a full-length webcam, face-to-face with another person. At the same time, people were encouraged to interact with touchscreen animation including peace signs and smiley faces drawings that could be traced together with hand-to-hand connection. Once the shared tasks were completed, a celebration screen emerged which triggered the vending machine to dispense a free Coke for each person.

One Pakistani remarked, “It’s great to connect with the average Indian who probably knows nothing about the average Pakistani.”

A man of Indian descent says of the machines, “It’s something to really bring the countries together,” and “It’s fantastic that you’re allowing people to see the other side as well, to not let it be a mystery anymore.”

More than 10,000 cans of Coke were estimated to be given away during the experience.

Chief creative officer, Leo Burnett Sydney, Andy DiLallo, says being on the ground in India during the Small World Machines experience has been the highlight of his career so far.

“To be able to take two countries that have been divided and to unite them through the world’s most iconic brand, and see the purity of the experience was amazing,” he says.

“After spending a year on this project with all the challenges we encountered, when Small World Machines started it was massive relief for me. And then joy, and then just awe to see the people connecting. Coca-Cola’s message has always been one of happiness. I see this activation as a small step in the right direction. Hopefully it works as a symbol of how people can overcome differences and come together with a simple act of joy.”

“Small World Machines is a real-world example of the power of creativity,” he adds.

Penguin-clad protestors crash Coca-Cola event

by Marketing ON 14 May 2013

After the recent storm of Coca-Cola getting in the ear of Channel Nine to pull the Greenpeace ad, it seems the company is again on the end of another backlash campaign.

Last Friday evening its high-profile ‘Big Red Boxes’ event was crashed by a civil disobedience group dressed as penguins.

Industrial sabotage activist group, Out of Order, used Coke’s ‘Big Prize Surprise’ event at Customs House in Sydney to make the point that Coke is anti-recycling, particular in light of the chain opposing the ’cash for containers’ scheme in Australia.

In the lead up to this latest sabotaging, the activist group had been conducting myriad attacks on Coke such as putting ‘out of order’ notices on Coca-Cola vending machines around Australia, and sharing the photos on Facebook.

Coca-Cola is cutting advertising to kids in pledge to fight obesity

by Marketing ON 10 May 2013

The Coca-Cola Company has pledged to display more calorie information on its packaging and decrease advertising aimed at children.

CEO Muhtar Kent announced at the brand’s 127th anniversary that the company was committed to fighting obesity, possibly in an attempted to deflect blame from its iconic sugary soft drinks. “Obesity is today’s most challenging health issue, affecting nearly every family and community across the globe, a problem which will take all of us working together and doing our part,” Kent says.

“We are committed to being part of the solution, working closely with partners from business, government and civil society. Today’s announcement is another step forward on our journey, as we take action with scale and reach across every country and continent where we operate.”

Coke has called the initiative ‘Coming Together’. The beverage giant and its local partners will label all packages with calorie details on the front of its products, and will make their low and no-calorie beverages more available in every market. Coke has also committed to supporting more physical activity programs and stop advertising to children under 12 as part of the new initiative.

Channel 9 pulls Greenpeace’s controversial anti-Coke ad

by Marketing ON 10 May 2013

Despite the best efforts of Greenpeace to get its anti-Coca-Cola TV spot across the line, Channel Nine has pulled the pin on the spot supporting a national cash for cans recycling scheme.

Despite the prime-time snub, the ad that bags the soft drink giant’s opposition to effective recycling has been viewed over half-a-million times on YouTube since its release on Monday.

The publicly funded $20,000 campaign was to make its debut in the a spot on Friday night football. Greenpeace claims Channel Nine had already accepted payment for the spot when the decision to pull it was made.

“They took the money and now they’ve bottled it,” says Greenpeace campaigner Reece Turner. “There’s something seriously wrong when TV networks are happy to show gambling, rape and pillage, but are too afraid to air an ad for recycling.”

Turner does admit that he expects the money to be returned to Greenpeace but goes on to admit that Coke has been “accused of bullying politicians into blocking cash for containers” saying that “it’s a reasonable assumption their influence is behind Channel Nine’s last minute choking.”

“Australians have a right to know what Coke is doing to our environment. It’s just a pity Channel Nine don’t have the guts to tell the truth,” declares Turner.

Coca-Cola taps into the world of teens with bite-sized digital content

by Marketing ON 26 April 2013

The latest branded content offering from content marketing superhero Coca-Cola has seen the brand launch a website with refreshable digital games and other content. The contents of the site is based on recent research it undertook with teenage panels.

The new website is called ‘The AHH effect‘ and comprises abstract games like identifying if an obscure object is a cat and a video asking if certain song lyrics would make good pick up lines.

The online content will be accessible via smartphones and tablets as well as through desktops. The digital media push also has 19 teen-friendly media partners including Alloy, Vevo, Buzzfeed, Facebook and Twitter. Coke will also encourage teens to create their own software based experiences for the brand.

The brand will reportedly analyse the content available and remove content that is not being engaged with. The content will be modeled from a mobile-first perspective is aimed at appealing to the short attention spans of modern teens.

The site was set up with agency partner Weiden+Kenny. Coke have been very vocal about their commitment to content marketing, as detailed in their 14 minute video, Coca-Cola Content 2020.

Banned SodaStream ad to hit Aussie screens

by Marketing ON 11 April 2013

The SodaStream ad that was banned from being played at the Super Bowl in the US is set to hit Australian television screens.

The ad was supposed to run on US network CBS during the coveted advertising break of the Super Bowl earlier this year, but was pulled as it was seen to make fun of soft drink giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi – which happened to be major sponsors of the game.

The commercial, directed by Alex Bogusky, sees two soft-drink delivery drivers from the rival companies pushing carts of their soft drink before the bottles all begin to explode. A voiceover then explains how many plastic bottles could have been saved during the superbowl alone if the crowd ditched their softdrink bottles for the economically friendly soda stream.

The ad has since become an internet hit receiving well over four million views YouTube.

SodaStream will revamp the commercial for Australian audiences with an Aussie voiceover and will air during AFL and NRL games on Sundays, during footy commentary and during pre-game analysis on Fox Sports wrap ups.

The ABC is the most attractive employer in Australia

by Marketing ON 2 April 2013

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has just been voted Australia’s most attractive employer at the third annual Randstad Award. Slightly bumping favourite Virgin Australia and unfailing top 10 performer BAE Systems, ABC’s win comes on the back of its second place finish at last year’s awards.

Deb Loveridge, managing director Asia Pacific of recruitment and HR services specialists, Randstad, says that the ABC’s two strong polling years clearly places the employer in a unique position.

“Winning the Randstad Award this year, following a strong result last year, means the ABC can confidently lay claim to being Australia’s most attractive employer,” she says.

Appealing largely to the female market and older generations (60-64 years of age), the ABC ranked well across all key criteria including interesting job content, good learning and development opportunities, long term job security, career progression opportunities, strong workplace culture and their ability to offer a good work-life balance.

While the ABC took out the overall Randstad Award, according to Australians, the most attractive industry to work for in 2013 is Aviation, with Virgin Australia winning this industry sector award.

Mining and resources was the second most attractive sector in Australia with last year’s Randstad Award winner Newcrest Mining, securing first position; and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) took out third most attractive industry, with Coca-Cola being awarded most attractive company in FMCG in Australia.

The media sector increased in attractiveness for Aussies in 2013, with Channel Seven appearing for the first time in the list of top 20 most attractive employers in the country, achieving fourth position.

In another first, Federal Government departments were included in the Randstad Award with multiple entries featuring in the top 20, including Department of Immigration & Citizenship (6^th); Department of Health & Ageing (7^th), Department of Defence (11^th) and Australia Post (12^th).

“The past year has seen increasing confidence and a shift in focus for people who needed security in their jobs in 2012, to this year wanting to be recognised and rewarded for their hard work and loyalty through better salary and benefits,” says Loveridge.

With the stakes for organisations in Australia high, Loveridge believes that employers need to make the workplace an inviting, lucrative, incentive-based environment filled with progression, otherwise workers will go elsewhere.

“Keeping your finger on the pulse of what workers want is the best way to maintain a strong employer brand and remain attractive to workers looking to change jobs,” adds Loveridge.

The top 20 list, right here.