Marketing Strategy Lessons from Coca-Cola’s ‘Taste the Feeling’ campaign By Patience Chisanga

“A few weeks ago I got an exciting and interesting invitation to be part of The Coca-cola Company’s new global marketing campaign that unites all Coke brands under the “Taste the Feeling” campaign. I felt extremely blessed to be among other media practitioners from around the globe invited to this exclusive event. I was extremely excited because this was not just any other international brand, it was The Coca-Cola Company; a Company that keeps coming up with campaigns that distinguish it from competitors and continues to give consumers a reason to choose its brand over others. In my mind, I knew this was going to be another campaign to look out for.

The following are some of the main lessons and highlights.

Even Big Brands have to keep Moving

When Nathan Kalumbu, President of the Coca-cola company Eurasia and Africa spoke he pointed out that this new strategy was not just a global campaign but a new approach to building the Coca cola brand, reminding those who love Coca-cola and reach out to new consumers and remind them of the simple pleasure of drinking a Coke. You would think that after establishing such a strong brand at some point you will need to let the brand do the rest of the work for you; but this is not the case with Coca-cola. Even big names need to strive to maintain their Brand or continue building it, ensuring it stays fresh in peoples’ minds.

Consistency is Key 

The Coca-cola brand is one brand that has been consistent from as far back as I can remember. These are thoughts that Chief Marketing Officer Marcos de Quinto further cemented by saying that as the company launches its new strategy consistency is very important because solid brands avoid erratic behavior.

Create Alternatives

“The food industry is facing some challenges and as a company we will continue to come up with alternative brands with lower sugar. Until now our strategy has been to launch alternative complementary brands to Coca-Cola” says Rodolfo Echeverria, VP of global creative, connections and digital. Clearly this new strategy emphasizes the company’s commitment to choice and offering consumers a beverage that suits their lifestyle, a big lesson for us Entrepreneurs to create alternative products and services should we want to create a larger revenue stream.
“We are reinforcing that Coca-Cola is for everybody,” de Quinto said. “Coca-Cola is one brand with different variants, all of which share the same values and visual iconography. People want their Coca-Cola in different ways, but whichever one they want, they want a Coca-Cola brand with great taste and refreshment.”

The Power of Story Telling,The Power of Emotions.

Watching the various adverts, Bill boards and listening to the theme song ignited a feeling that that drinking a Coca-Cola makes everything special, our lives, our relationships and our world. But this feeling wouldn’t be ignited without the manner in which story telling was used in the very simple honest and relatable adverts hat still had the Coca-cola bottle at the centre of each story.
One of the most captivating adverts for me is “Brotherly Love” which is a story built around a relationship between two Brothers which Coca-cola refers to as a universal story of love and conflict that is covered by Avicii’s Hey Brother. I think it is a beautiful story of how siblings may argue at time but all in all blood will always be thicker than water. It is interesting how a big brother is always fond teasing his kid brother saves this little brother from bullies who tried to take away his Coca-cola. Aviciis Hey brother does even more good to the advert giving you a feeling that drinking a Coca-cola is about love, it’s about family it’s about sharing brotherly love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oYlOBun8UI

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