Coca-Cola’s Multi-Phase Global & Local World Cup Campaign Anchored By Jason Derulo’s ‘Colors’ Anthem

Coca-Cola has again placed music at the core of a sports sponsorship campaign as musician Jason Derulo’s bespoke Russia 2018 track X sits at the heart of its FIFA World Cup activation programme.

While FIFA’s official drinks partner’s multi-phase, integrated activation spans everything from televisions ads to bespoke packaging and the brand’s popular, name-based ‘Share A Coke’ programme, it is Derulo’s Russia 2018 anthem anchors the global work (which will run in around 185 countries).

The song, called ‘Colors/Colours’, was released in music video form in April and contains fairly minimal visual Coke branding (such as one scene featuring a Coke-branded football).

Although the lyrics includes the line ‘Can’t you taste the feeling’- thus mirroring Coke’s global tagline.

It was first teased as early as February,

before the March single launch,

and then the core music video roll out in April.

Further supporting assets, such as a lyrics spot, ran across the singers own platforms too.

Coke is also linking the online and offline spaces with score-themed bottles and cans.

The limited edition, tournament-specific packaging shows numbers 1-9 in an attempt to get consumers to post social media photos such as predicting goal totals for their favourite team.

Derulo is not the only musician within the activation.

In fact, Coke’s campaign sees him duet with a phalanx of different musicians from around the world – ranging from AC/DC and Wyclef Jean to Ethiopia’s Sami Dain,

Uganda’s Ykee Benda

and Russian rapper Basta in the host nation, in order to create multiple, market-specific localised versions off the campaign’s anthem.

Derulo also features in a range of World Cup Coke social media content pieces: such as local market ‘shoutouts’.

Another local market example, in South Korea, sees Coke teamed up with K-pop band BTS/Bangtan Boys.

Thus Coke is able to cut a wide array of social videos – ranging from 2 to 15 seconds –

that it can deploy around the globe (one even carries Amazon Prime branding as the two businesses partner up to try and boost impulse ecommerce purchasing).

Derulo also makes cameos in many of Coca-Cola’s market-specific spots – several of which have been created in harness with agency Mercado/McCann.

For example, a commercial called ‘Ready For’, created with Mercado/McCann Buenos Aires, depicts Coke plant managers give football manager style pep talks to bottles of Coke as they head out into the hands of emotional soccer fans.

While Mercado/McCann is also the agency behind another ad within the brand’s World Cup campaign called ‘Stock Up’ – which is backed by AC/DC track ‘Are You Ready’ and which sees soccer supporters stuck on a soft drinks run just as their favourite team scores.

(The message is clear: buy Coke before the match starts).

While the Atlanta based brand’s home nation US men’s national team failed to qualify for the tournament, Coke has placed a legend from the USA’s women’s team, Alex Morgan, at the centre of its US activation.

Led by a spot called ‘Uplifters’, created by The Cyranos/McCann Barcelona, Morgan (in tandem with German keeper Manuel Neueur) fronts the spot that revolves around a message of female empowerment: “They told us that soccer wasn’t our thing. Are we going to believe it?”.

Indeed, Coke appears to be taking a fairly cautious approach in the USA states and will decide whether to run spots on television (as well as across social), according to US fan engagement and Fox viewing figures.

A wide range of other local market Coke World Cup competitions and initiatives are running around the world.

These activation strands all air around a month before the tournament itself kick-off and they cap a nine-month Coca-Cola World Cup campaign that initially began back in September when Coke partnered with Electronic Arts on an integration in its FIFA 18 video game that saw Coke sign up its first virtual player endorser, Alex Hunter, to its already substantial athlete ambassador stable (see case study).

This EA tie-up also links to Coca-Cola’s World Cup on-pack promotion – which runs up to 17 June – and includes key European markets such as France, the UK and Germany (along with local advertising, often activating national team specific sponsorships, too).

The on-pack promo programme offers fans and consumers a chance to access in-game content within the FIFA 18 game for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 consoles, as well as being in with a chance of winning a player and Coca-Cola jersey.

Consumers ate tasked with finding unique codes on promotional packs of Coca-Cola Classic and Coca-Cola Zero Sugar to enter.

This promotion has been supported by a £2.5m marketing campaign that spans point-of-sale, digital, social and out-of-home advertising.

While among other notable strands of the soft drinks behemoth’s global World Cup activation programme is a Coke-backed virtual World Cup Sticker initiative with Panini,

and the 50-country FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola: which this time round, as well as the physical trip, included an an immersive, 360-degree tour of the official FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola plane using virtual reality and augmented reality technology.

“The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour by Coca-Cola is visiting more than 50 countries ahead of the tournament in Russia,” said Tony Francis, global digital lead, FIFA World Cup, Coca-Cola.

“Hundreds of thousands of people will experience the tour, but we wanted to bring the excitement to the millions of fans around the world who can’t be there in person. It’s a fantastic way to access the trophy and connect to the Coca-Cola brand. You feel like you’re there.”

The tour has been promoted via 360-degree ads and featured on Coca-Cola and FIFA digital platforms and social networks, as well as at FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour stops.

While the full, high-end VR experience is also featured at Coca-Cola VIP hospitality lounges during the FIFA World Cup in Russia.

“The core of our digital and social campaign has been to develop content and capabilities to help enable the storytelling across the entire FIFA World Cup campaign,” Francis said. “This experience allows us to do that all the way through the final whistle.”

The central musical approach aims to align the marketing with pop culture.

“We are trying to target not only soccer fans. We are trying to open our arms to bring everybody in. That only happens in the World Cup. It’s like a Super Bowl effect,” says Rodolfo Echeverria, Coca-Cola’s head of global creative.

Comment:

The tournament is a huge global partnership platform for the brand – which expects half the planet’s population to engage.

It builds on the brand’s ongoing football work.

Indeed, Simon Harrison, customer marketing director at Coca-Cola European Partners, said: “89% of consumers watched the 2016 UEFA Euros at home and 33% consumed soft drinks during matches.”

The early signs for Russia 2018 are already positive for Coke.

For example, the central ‘Colors’ music video has already notched up 20m views on YouTube.

The Atlanta based soft drinks giant has a rich heritage of putting music at the heart of its sports sponsorship activation.

This approach can be seen in multiple Coke sports campaigns and dates back to its London 2012 ‘Move To The Beat’ initiative (see case study) and its ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ UEFA Euro 2012 campaign (see case study).

The brand has a lengthy track record of nmulti-market football-led marketing and recent work from around the globe ranges from its UEFA Euro 2016 campaign (see case study)
and its ‘We Are All Red’ Copa 2015 campaign in Chile (see case study), to its 2015 Women’s World Cup activation (see case study) and its soccer as a social good ‘One World, One Game’ Brazil 2014 World Cup work (see case study).

Coca-Cola has had stadium advertising at every World Cup since 1950 and has one of the longest commercial relationships with FIFA of any sponsor. The partnership dates back to 1974 and it has been an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup since 1978.

As far back as 2005 Coca-Cola extended its sponsorship deal with football governing body Fifa until 2022.

The deal was essentially a 16-year extension, subject to an eight-year renewal, and gives Coca-Cola sponsorship rights to all FIFA competitions, exclusive marketing opportunities such as the title partner of the Trophy Tour, plus increased media exposure and affiliation with FIFA’s special events and development initiatives.

Links:

Coca-Cola

https://buy.shareacoke.com/

https://us.coca-cola.com/bracket-refresh/

http://www.coca-colacompany.com/

https://twitter.com/CocaColaCo

https://www.youtube.com/user/cocacola

https://www.facebook.com/CocaColaUnitedStates/

https://www.instagram.com/TheCocaColaCo/

The Cyranos/McCann

http://www.thecyranosmccann.com/

Russia 2018