Mid June saw Coca-Cola India launch its core Cricket World Cup campaign, ‘12th Man’, which reflects fans’ intense desire to see India lift the trophy
‘12th Man’ is inspired by fan emotion and revolves around the simple idea that to be part of the team, you don’t need to be in the team.
The brand’s creative positions the 12th man as a symbol for all Indian fans – for their hopes, aspirations and anxieties.
The optimistic creative explores the shared supporter feeling that whilst they are all outside the boundary they are all, in some sense, the ‘12th Man’.
Coca-Cola, an official partner of the ICC 2019 ODI World Cup, launched the initiative on 12 June through a spearhead spot starring players Rishabh Pant and Yuvraj Singh.
The hero commercial, conceptualised by McCann Worldgroup, offers a tournament view from the 12th man’s perspective. It outlines the importance of the role: from handing out the drinks to being ready to come on to the field as a substitute and being ready for that ‘unexpected call up’.
It includes the copy ‘Let the billion stand by the playing 11’ and the various supporting creative executions are linked by the #BeThe12thMan#AlwaysWithTheTeam#TeamIndia#CWC19and #CricketWithCoke hashtags.
This 12th man activation strand follows on from Coke’s launch phase ticket competition which offered Indian fans an opportunity of the trip of a lifetime to the World Cup in England and Wales.
Coca-Cola is one of several brands in India betting big on the tournament (among other brand’s in India offering tournament tickets/trips through World Cup campaign contests are Britannia and Uber (see case study).
This phase was fronted by Ranbir Kapoor and Paresh Rawal and was launched with a spot that saw Kapoor watching the TV and Rawal dropping by to tell him about how easy it could be to fly to London and watch the World Cup matches live and that all you need to do to enter the competition is to ‘Grab a Coke and get started’ and the drives viewers online to find out more details at http://spr.ly/6054EiKIA where they simply need to click on the ‘Participate Now’ button, enter a mobile number and then type in the 14 digit KO code on their Coca Cola bottle.
Coca-Cola also supported the lead spot through content across its social channels.
A bottle of Coca-Cola is all you need to enjoy the final of the ICC World Cup live in London. So if you haven’t already, grab a Coke, and participate in the contest on Coke2home. https://t.co/BivoyqP5tZ pic.twitter.com/ExwCxHTFva
— 12th Man Coca-Cola India (@CocaCola_Ind) May 17, 2019
Comment:
Coca-Cola’s World Cup creative in India has featured an impressive team of celebrities and cricket stars who have mass appeal right across the country.
The brand believes that these endorsers will help it build/enhance brand love by appearing in creatively compelling stories that shape emotions and thus drive behavioural and attitudinal change over time.
This emotional route seems a sensible approach in India where cricket is the nation’s number one passion (which often goes beyond the rational and the logical) and unites the entire billion strong population regardless of geography, gender and social-economic segment.
This makes cricket a unique platform in India: one which provides countless engagement moments which can lift and remain in the country’s collective consciousness.
Coca-Cola’s umbrella goal behind its World Cup strategy is to leverage the tournament in order to get ‘Coca-Cola into every Indian’s heart and into the shopping basket’.
The underlying idea is that the brand’s marketers are seeking to make Cricket World Cup moments special for consumers with the simple pleasure of drinking a Coca-Cola.
The company is also using the tournament and its official ICC partner rights to enter the sports hydration drinks sector in India with the launch of Powerade.
The isotonic sports drink launch campaign leveraged the Cricket World Cup through a campaign fronted by Indian cricket super star Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The Powerade activation focused on ‘building a consumption depth around cricket viewing’ by encouraging fans to stock up to be ‘Match Ready’.
The campaign idea is that ‘at any moment of the game could be its best’.
Sports hydration is a new, but growing category in India and is being driven by a general rise in consumers’ interest in sports, plus the spread of smart wearable technology and the establishment of new sports leagues and rise of new age fitness centres.
This means a growing group of sports and fitness enthusiasts in India who are looking for beverages with functional benefits to help them perform better.
Powerade is the official sports drink of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 and amongst its tournament activation strands are ‘owning the athlete training zone’s and the ‘hydration breaks’ during matches.
Coke’s other tournament innovations and activations around-, on- and in-ground for consumers range from bar-led initiatives with Coke Zero, coolers in stadiums, extensive sampling of beverages, special events and branding for Powerade.
On-ground work ranges from placement of Coke parasols in prime locations, mid-wicket Coke branding on TV screens, replay and sight- screen presence and prime perimeter branding.
While the company is also using the company’s umbrella ‘World Without Waste’ mission with recycling initiatives at stadiums and human billboards with a recycling message to create awareness and bring back cans for recycling across fan zones and stadiums.
It was on 31 January that Coca-Cola was first unveiled as an official partner of the ICC in a deal that saw the end of previous incumbent PepsiCo’s association with the Cricket World Cup
The global partnership sees The Coca-Cola Company’s brands become non-alcoholic beverage partners of the ICC until 2023.
The deal includes the 2019 ODI Cricket World Cup in England and the ICC men’s and women’s T20 World Cups in Australia in 2020, the ICC Women’s World Cup 2021 in New Zealand and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India in 2023.
At the time of the deal, David Richardson, CEO, ICC, said: “It is our pleasure to welcome Coca-Cola on board as an ICC partner for the next five years. As one of the world’s biggest sports with more than 1 billion fans we are delighted to partner with Coca-Cola, one of the biggest brands in the world. The ICC is committed to growing the game worldwide and the popularity of the three formats with pinnacle global events in each makes this an exciting time for major brands to be associated with our sport.”
While T Krishnakumar, president, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, added: “Cricket is a global sport and a passion shared by more than a billion people across gender, generations and cultures. In-line with our long history of partnering with major sporting events globally, our strategic partnership with ICC, reinforces our long-standing commitment to refresh sports fans and enhance their entertainment experience. We look forward to delighting our consumers with our diverse portfolio and engagement opportunities to create unique experiences for fans through the next five years and even beyond that.”
Plus Vijay Parasuraman, VP marketing, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, commented: “Consumers are at the heart of Coca-Cola’s beverage portfolio. The company is acutely attuned to their preferences and continuously looks at innovative ways to connect people with our brands. As part of our partnership with ICC to inspire moments of optimism and happiness amongst consumers, we will also offer fans a chance to watch the 2019 ICC World Cup matches live.”
Other major sports partnerships in The Coca-Cola Company’s sponsorship stable include global deals with the Olympics, FIFA and the Rugby World Cup.
Links:
Coca-Cola India
http://www.thecocacolacompany.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/cocacola
https://www.facebook.com/cocacolaGB
McCann Worldgroup
https://www.mccannworldgroup.com/
ICC
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