Rolled out the (Coca-Cola) Red Carpet in a Sea of Blue
Posted on
Coca Cola: How Coca-Cola Rolled Out the Red Carpet in a Sea of Blue
In an article written by Jay Moye, editor for coca-colajourney.com, The Coca-Cola Company gives a shout out to Coca-Cola UNITED for the great work our people did to “own the dirt” in Atlanta, Georgia as the world’s largest spectator sport was approaching.
We want to recognize our people at Atlanta Coca-Cola, North Metro Coca-Cola and South Metro Coca-Cola, for their efforts to make sure the landscape and the experience reminded visitors and hometown locals who really loves Atlanta and the people – day in and day out.
Almost ten months prior to the Super Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia, leaders at The Coca-Cola Company and Coca-Cola UNITED’s local bottlers had a unique challenge (opportunity) ahead of them- the Blue company had sponsorship rights to the “Big Game” in their backyard.
The group – which included a wide range of representatives from The Coca-Cola Company, local bottling partner Coca-Cola UNITED and key supplier partners – crafted a 360-degree plan to defend its home turf in collaboration with key customers and community partners.
“We knew we couldn’t control the air game but we would ‘own the dirt’ and win the marketplace,” Hester explained, appropriately borrowing a football metaphor. “We laid out how we wanted people to see and experience our brands if they were flying in from around the country for the game – from when they arrive at Hartsfield Jackson, to public transit signage, to hotel lobby coolers at check in, to themed product displays in convenience stores, drug stores and grocery outlets.”
Hester tapped the company’s in-house creative and production agency, Coke Studios, to create a visual identity with the inviting tagline of “Welcome to Our House” against a silhouetted rendering of the Atlanta skyline.
“It ended up paying rent across everything we did,” Hester said of the design, which Coca-Cola UNITED featured across a range of touchpoints – from retail merchandising and packaging, to hospitality event invites, to VIP lanyards and premiums.”
The team welcomed several key customers to the new KOlab collaborative innovation space in July to sell in the program, using virtual reality (VR) technology to show how everything would look on the shelf and throughout the store. The day after Christmas, nearly 200 outlets brought the “Welcome to Our House” concept to life.
The nearly 10-month creative collaboration paid off. Coca-Cola posted its strongest January, as measured by retail dollar sales growth, ever in the Atlanta market.
Coca-Cola also used the Big Game as an opportunity to build deeper relationships with its customers …
Hosted at The Gathering Spot, a pre-game tailgate and a VIP watch party for invited guests and shopper sweepstakes winners.
The company also gifted key stakeholders commemorative jackets made from recycled PET bottles collected from several marquee Atlanta venues – a gesture that supports its “World Without Waste” vision to help collect and recycle the equivalent of the bottles and cans placed in the market by 2030.
“We have major events like this every year in cities across the country, so our goal was to set the bar and use this moment as a gold-standard partnership example for others to follow.”
