Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Coca-Cola Reinvents back to its Core

A lot of times huge brands rely on their name and branding to stay relevant and keep the brand on top. Knowing that by building a lifetime consumer you will keep them interested in you by just your product.

In today's fast paced, “need the next best thing” society, holding on to consumers takes more then delivering a good

product. Case in point - Coca-Cola.

The brand has been around for 125 years and has built a reputation for their classic look, ad campaigns and family friendly marketing. While they have loyal consumers they still wander to the other side to try the sexy new look of a competitor.

After doing some soul searching the company realized they "lost their way through arrogance and hubris" (according to Joe Tripodi, chief marketing and commercial officer for the brand). So in 2011 they decided to reinvent themselves with some very good results.

This year the 125 year old brand enlisted in a new marketing campaign that instead of using the old mass-marketed, big brand model on every product, they have broken up their products and given the smaller ones their own identity as well as adding new outlets under the Coca-cola umbrella.

By using the brand's name they were able to land strategic partnerships like with the World Wildlife Funds polar-bear conservation efforts (remember the cute holiday Coke polar bears… genius!). Through the partnership, the brand will turn 1.4 billion Coke cans white to help raise awareness of the cause.

They also have been pulling some creative stunts to get the most out of all of their campaigns. This year, Coca-Cola Freestyle, their touch screen soda fountain that holds up to 125 different flavored beverages, launched a teen-focused campaign with Maroon 5, who hosted a "24 Hour Jam Session," which followed the band while creating an original song for the campaign.

With these new approaches Coca-cola has seen a 3% increase in growth this year to date, in a mature category with heavy competition. Just goes to show, sometimes you have to think outside of the [Coke] can.