Coca-Cola Launches Integrated Olympic Marketing Camapaign

Coca-Cola is not only the world's largest beverage firm but also the most recognized and valuable global brand. The company is a top sponsor of the Beijing Summer Olympic Games and the longest-running corporate supporter of the Olympics, going back to 1928 (Eastman Kodak would of been but they missed one year).

With now less then a month to go till the August 8 opening ceremonies, Coca-Cola has presented a series of new Olympic advertising, marketing, promotions and interactive activities. All of it centers around the theme of unity, cultural connections, and the celebration of Olympic Spirit around the world. The Coca-Cola China Olympic programs use the Mandarin expression "Shuang", meaning complete physical, emotional and spiritual refreshment, to describe the tremendous passion, pride and excitement felt by all Chinese as hosts of the 2008 Olympic Games.

"The common theme in all these Coca-Cola initiatives is to celebrate the global connections and magic that occurs when the world comes together in friendship at the Olympic Games this summer here in China." said Kevin Tressler, Director, Worldwide Sports and Entertainment Marketing for Coca-Cola.

Three new TV commercials are being launched in China around the games. You can watch this one titled "Shuang City" and see Beijing transformed into an Olympic playground, featuring Olympic basketball athlete Yao Ming.

You can visit YouTube here to see a behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Shaung City" and also check out the other two TV ads,  "Bird's Nest" and "Yao and LeBron".

Three Global and local China brand promotions and contests are being launched:

• "WE8": A unique global program, which unites eight Chinese artists with eight progressive musicians from around the world to interpret the ideas and passions that connect people, creating a series of Coca-Cola contour bottle designs and music tracks.
• "Win a Dream Day With the Star Team": A promotional contest that invites Chinese consumers to go online and enter unique codes from Coca-Cola products. Several lucky consumers will win the opportunity to spend the day with the Coca-Cola Olympic Star Team that includes athletes Liu Xiang, Guo Jing Jing, Zhao Rui Rui and Wang Li Qin.
• "Delicious Happiness" is what the Chinese characters of Coca-Cola literally translate to. More than 150 countries will launch special Coca-Cola packs with the Chinese characters logo during the Games.

For the first time in the US, the cans, bottles and packages will feature the Coca-Cola script in different languages. The products also will have 14 designs. Languages for the cans and fridge packs include Ethiopian, Russian, Thai and Mandarin. New can designs will appear every two to three weeks. Coke's 20-ounce plastic bottles will feature labels with languages from Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Korea, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The cans and bottles also will have English versions.

In addition, Coke will feature a "six pack" of athletes, including swimmer Natalie Coughlin and basketball star LeBron James, on packaging and in advertising.

Three new interactive programs are being launched or expanded off the iCoke.cn website:

• Coca-Cola Virtual Olympic Torch Relay: In partnership with Tencent's QQ instant messaging service, a Virtual Torch Relay taking place online across China with 57 million participants as of July 7th.
• Coca-Cola Olympic Photo Montage: A collaborative photo experience where more than 17 million photos have been contributed by Chinese consumers to make the largest Olympic photo in history.
• Design the World a Coke Interactive Tool: Allows consumers to design their own bottle online and then combine their creation with the designs of other consumers from around the world. Click “Beijing 2008” in top left menu then the "Become a Bottle Artist” option. Last look I took there were 37,831 bottles designed worldwide, 2991 submitted by the U.S. with Korea way in the country lead with 19,397.

This "Unity Bottle," symbolizing cultural collaboration and the global harmony of the Games, was designed by Yao Ming and LeBron James, both part of the Coca-Cola Olympic Star Team  part of the Coca-Cola  Star Team, Yao is also a member of China Basketball Team and LeBron a member of USA Basketball Team.

Yao Ming said "Unity should be the theme of the global village that is today's world. In unity we come together as brothers and sisters to celebrate the diversity of cultures and ideas. And through the Games of XXIX Olympiad in Beijing, my good friend LeBron and I wish to share this spirit of Unity with athletes from all over the world. I am honored to help create this bottle and spread the message of unity."

"I am proud to be partnering with Yao Ming to show how the Olympics and Coca-Cola can connect people from different cultures in a positive and inspiring way", said LeBron James. "The world together is what the Olympics is all about."

Three Beijing "Shuang" venues will open during the Games to welcome consumers from China and abroad:

• The Shuang Experience Center at the Olympic Green: Featuring interactive exhibits, games, contests and other opportunities to participate in the Olympics for visitors at the Olympic Green


• Two Shuang Zones at The Place and at Chao Yang Park: Featuring interactive exhibits, music, Olympic pin trading, an opportunity to be photographed holding a real Olympic Torch and a daily, 8:08pm, "Golden Moments" party at The Place where medal-winning athletes, celebrities and consumers can come together to celebrate the day's events and cheer for the China team

David Brooks, VP, Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Project Group of Coca-Cola (China) said "Shuang City is the crowning glory of Coca-Cola's Olympic journey in 2008. Our goal has always been to bring the unity and passion of the Games to the people of China and the world. We believe the Unity Bottle, these TV commercials, and our other Olympic initiatives will fulfill the Olympic dream for consumers as only Coca-Cola can."

More information on Coke's history with the Olympic Games can be found in this document the Company put together.

Please check out my previous blog posts on the Beijing Olympic Games, here and here. I plan on covering more of the sponsors's Olympic Marketing efforts between now and the Games!

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