Challenge

Coca-Cola was in the midst of changing the archetype in its U.S. brand marketing. The shift was centered on “occasions.” Targeted were all the times when consumers might want to enjoy a refreshing beverage—Coca-Cola or one of their other brands. But something was missing. To maximize impact, Coca-Cola had to innovate the point of interaction, as well as the messaging and visual appeal. They asked BOLTGROUP to design and create these brand experiences.

Solution

The solution started with materials and processes—how could Coca-Cola leverage its massive volume output of merchandising to tower over all competition? The question evolved to be: How do we capitalize on all the physical assets we currently own in the marketplace? How do we intersect our consumers with a brand experience just when they need a beverage?

Working as Agency of Record for the Occasion Based Marketing team, BOLTGROUP became immersed in the business and its multiple channels. Grocery to C&P to Mass / Drug to At School. Our aim was to discover new, innovative ways to engage target consumers with occasion-based messaging and visual merchandising that would elevate the brand above competitors. A few occasions included: Drive Time, After School, and Shop Refreshed.

A top priority for the design team was developing innovative brand experiences around existing in-store equipment and “owning” aisles, end caps, and fountains through use of Coca-Cola’s brand assets. Also, invitational messaging communicating brand benefits was key.

Result

Coca-Cola gained significant incremental volume across every channel and protected its placement from all competitors. All as a result of creative application of brand properties onto existing assets, the design of innovative new merchandising and POS, and pinpoint messaging that intuitively connected to consumers at the right time in the right place.

Design + Brand Experience—a powerful combination for the world-giant beverage brand.