“You may have the same consumer with a multiple needs – strong hydration after playing sports, a good fit for Powerade, while Coca-Cola delivers refreshment when watching a game with friends or family and Coke Zero lets them enjoy the full taste with zero calories.”
Earlier this year, Coca-Cola unveiled “Plaza Coca-Cola,” a fan zone that is following “El Tri” on its five-city U.S. tour. Features include the “Coca-Cola Happiness Dome,” where fans can perform Karaoke-style renditions of popular songs and cheers;” “Coke Zero Impressive Moments,” an audio-visual tour of El Tri’s top moves; and the Powerade Challenge, where fans complete three physical obstacles (Hispanic Sports Business Archives 2/11/11. News In Brief).
Coca-Cola teamed up with El Tri in the U.S. in 2004 after a decades-long relationship with the team in Mexico. At the time, Coca-Cola became the title sponsor and official beverage of the FMF for its five-game soccer tour of the U.S. – renamed “Coca-Cola presenta Fútbol Mexicano de Verdad” (HMW Archives 2/23/04. Gol!).
During the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Plaza Coca-Cola broadened its outreach, serving as an interactive zone where fans can gather to cheer on their favorite teams and take in an audio-visual tour of the Gold Cup’s most impressive moments.
Kicking its digital offerings up a notch, Coca-Cola unveiled the Coca-Cola Gigapixel Fan Cam and Golfonía.
The Fan Cam takes a 360-degree snapshot of the stadium at selected games and showcases the images online. Fans can check out the photos at www.MCR.com/plaza to find themselves in the crowd and share the photos online. Also in the mix is a sound platform dubbed Golfonía, which allows fans to go online to create, customize and share a song incorporating live sounds from the game. Both are featured at Plaza Coca-Cola.
Coca-Cola’s new marketing efforts are an extension of Coca-Cola’s “Destapa tu Felicidad” marketing program, which debuted in 2009 with an updated creative direction focused on Coke’s uplifting quality and burst of refreshment. These extend beyond traditional media, integrating social and mobile media, enhanced shopper experiences, and music (HMW Archives 4/6/09. Coca-Cola Broadens Its Outreach To Hispanics).
While fútbol is clearly at the center of Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy, the soft drink maker has also featured béisbol in its outreach to Hispanics of Caribbean origin, primarily in Miami and New York.
Now, Coca-Cola executives have set their sights on the 2012 Olympics, unveiling sponsorship of an “Eight-Pack” of athletes headed to London. In addition to their role as contenders for Team USA, the athletes will also serve as Coca-Cola “Ambassadors of Active Living” to help encourage and inspire people to lead active, balanced lives.
The mix includes two Hispanic athletes – wrestler Henry Cejudo, which won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in 55kg freestyle division; and Marlen Esparza, a 2010 U.S. national champion in women’s boxing and gold medalist at the 2008 Pan American Games.
