|
New Media Age [NMA]
By Yinka Adegoke
Coca-Cola is working on a major global interactive marketing initiative called iCoke, aimed at reconnecting with young people via a mix of digital music, mobile and branded entertainment.
The initiative is headed by brand director Scott Hunter Smith, a former marketer for Heineken who was responsible for various music and brand alliances. It is being led from Coca-Cola's Atlanta headquarters.
However, the UK will have a key role as mycokemusic.com is seen as an ideal mechanism around which to maintain ongoing brand relationships with young consumers.
The company has been buying up iCoke Web addresses globally since the start of the year, although most currently redirect to cocacola.com. The first iCoke site launch has been in China, with a Canadian site due to launch today (Thursday).
It's expected that on-pack promotions driving customers to the iCoke sites will be launched across most of the territories.
Coca-Cola UK refused to comment on when iCoke will be rolled out here, but announced a promotion this week that sees mycokemusic.com making its first foray into mobile.
The music download service has teamed with mobile music company Shazam Entertainment for a joint ringtones and downloads promotion across 275m Coke and Diet Coke cans. Officially, this promotion isn't part of the wider iCoke strategy.
The summer-long push will offer 5,000 ringtones or downloads through a daily draw that consumers can enter via promotional codes on bottle labels and the bottoms of cans.
As a reward for entering, all participants get a CokeTag, which is effectively a free version of the tag service made popular by Shazam. This enables them to identify music tracks by holding a mobile handset to the music after dialling 62345.
This is the latest move by the drinks manufacturer to integrate its brand with products and services favoured by young people. Recently it launched mobile marketing activity as part of a push around its sponsorship of the Football League (NMA 03.03.05). |
Events Calendar
