Coca Cola Burn was launched in the Indian market in 2010 using social media exclusively.

1. THE BURN
CURATE
CASE STUDY
Bringing alive Fierce Creativity among hip, young,
urban Indians from the Fashion and Arts community

2. THE BURN CURATE
CASE STUDY
1 STRATEGIC APPROACH
4 CAMPAIGN ANALYSES
2 CREATIVE ELEMENTS
5 CONSUMER RESEARCH
3 TEN TRUTHS
6 WAY FORWARD FOR
BURN CURATE

3. BURN WLIFW CHALLENGE 2010
15 fashion design institutes across Delhi
The chance to exhibit at the largest fashion event in the country
360 cans of Burn as fuel, raw material and inspiration
15 teams of finalists shortlisted for the final chapter

4. BRIEF
FOR
DIGITAL
To support the Burn Curate contest in digital media.

5. BURN WANTS
TO OWN FIERCE CREATIVITY AS
AN ATTITUDE AND LIFESTYLE.

6. WHAT THIS MEANS
FOR HIP, YOUNG, URBAN
INDIANS

7. DJ PEARL SARABJIT CHADHA
FIERCE CREATORS
SAPNA BHAVNANI The cool icons of hip, young, urban Indians.
Burn wants to champion their distinctive brand of energy
and expression.
GAIL SABYASACHI IRIS

8. BURN IS THE
SIGNATURE
FUEL OF FIERCE
CREATORS.
WHAT?
Drinking Burn unleashes my passions and makes me stand apart from the crowd.
WHY?
Burn delivers a shot of raw creative adrenaline in every can.

9. HOW CAN BURN DEMONSTRATE
WHAT IT DOES IN A WAY THAT MAKES
THIS EXPERIENCE
INTENSELY PERSONAL?

10. THE CREATIVE CHALLENGE
ONE-ON-ONE
BURN BRAND
EXPERIENCE
(NOT JUST TO TALK ABOUT IT)

11. CULT OF BURN
Strategic Idea

12. AT THE HEART OF
BURN ARE A CERTAIN
KIND OF PEOPLE
W
dare to go after their dreams
have the genius, wit and will to express themselves uniquely
evolve a style that is intense, aggressive and gutsy
H thrive on inventive, challenging and unconventional ground
refuse to back down, never give up
O want to explode onto the scene
fear just one thing – to have their dreams burn out and die at dawn

13. THIS DIGITAL CAMPAIGN AIMED TO CREATE
REAL IMPACT AND A STRONG PERSONAL CONNECT
BY DIRECTLY ENGAGING OUR NICHE TARGET
AUDIENCE WITH OUR 15 TEAMS OF FIERCE
DESIGNERS.

14. THREE
The Facebook page
The Peopleʼs Choice Award
The Gallery
CREATIVE
ELEMENTS

15. THE PAGE
ENABLED OUR CONTESTANTS TO
FEED OFF EACH OTHER AND
EVOLVE INTO A BURN COMMUNITY.
We conceptualised a contemporary, young personality for the
ʻBurn curatorʼ. As our campaignʼs hands-on MC, his role was to be
the only source of information, document the creative process and
encourage the contestants.

17. THE PEOPLEʼS
CHOICE AWARD
INSPIRED OUR CONTESTANTS
AND SUPPORTERS TO
ʻRECRUITʼ FOR THE BURN CULT.
It was tied in with the WLIFW award to rouse them into
aggressively promoting our brand and event.

19. THE ONLINE GALLERY
BURNCURATE.COM WAS VISIONED
AS A SHOWCASE FOR BURN
FASHION AND ART PROJECTS.
Burnʼs boldly minimalistic visual identity showcased
every Burn creation.
It was also the campaign hub where all the voters
converged to view the creations, cast their votes via
Facebook Connect and follow their favourites.

21. TEN TRUTHS
HOW THE BURN CURATE CAMPAIGN LIVED
EACH ONE OF THEM.

22. A We were flooded by questions, emails, and comments the moment the contestantsʼ
profiles went up.
B The concept notes and sketches uploaded on Facebook generated 99 comments in
the first three hours.
C Closer to voting, this pace picked up to 84 comments within two hours.
D We were widely introduced as “the new energy drink by Coca Cola”. The contestants
uploaded photos with Burn cans, and even declared that it kept them going till the last minute.
EXPECT A RESPONSE WHILE DEALING WITH
1 DIGITAL MEDIA AND FIERCE CAMPAIGNERS.
E Several supporters jumped the gun and began casting votes that didnʼt show up,
which triggered off the voting controversy.
F A Burn follower complained about ʻNIFTʼs tagʼ being the reason for its win and in turn
generated 152 comments.
G The winning creation by NIFT was proactively researched, declared a ʻfakeʼ and hotly
debated on our forum.
H A recent post by Burn Curate resulted in a furious and highly personal debate between
two Burn Curate followers, totaling 51 comments.

23. A Keeping the Burn brand image in mind, we improvised with the pictures and
sketches provided to us by the events company.
ORIENTING OUR CONTESTANTS TO
2 THE BRAND AND HELPING THEM
PERFORM BETTER.
B We spoke with the contestants at length to craft concept notes to accompany
their cleaned up sketches.

24. A We designed WIP snapshots using pictures of the final creations.
B The contestants responded by bulk tagging us with their friends on these WIP
snapshots and using these as profile pictures
3 CATALYZING CONVERSATIONS.
C They began to bulk tag albums of their projects, and posting bulk
personal messages.
D They also started posting live updates and calls to action on their status feeds
and bulk personal messages on their friendsʼ walls.

25. A The voting controversy was tackled with announcements that voting was not yet open,
as well as a count down to voting time.
B We arranged for live updates from WLIFW when the disappointment with NIFTʼs win
began to be discussed.
C Fears about foul play were diffused by releasing a voting score card.
4 MANAGING CONVERSATIONS WISELY.
D We posted the HT coverage of NIFTʼs win to dispel the cynicism on our forum.
E We allowed the spate of accusations against NIFT and Burn to run its course between
the cynics and supporters.

26. A The temporary voting display issue erupted into an outburst of criticism on our forum.
B We proactively addressed this situation with a live vote count and a phone helpline.
5 SHIT HAPPENS. FOR A CHANGE YOU CAN FIX IT.
C However, complaints about the inadequate transport arrangements
for the Burn creations went unaddressed.

27. A Despite the voting controversy, the last two days of voting saw a burst of Burn Curate
propaganda which catapulted our friend and vote tally.
B Spirits soared when the Peopleʼs Choice Award was won by Pearl Textile.
C When NIFT won at WLIFW, the spirits dropped (for some) again.
6 THIS AUDIENCE IS FICKLE. USE IT TO
YOUR ADVANTAGE.
D One avid Burn Curate follower continued to make the final results as an issue.
The others reacted one off and dropped out.
E The momentum of conversation and the rate at which our community is growing has
been flagging since the event. We need a sustenance plan.

28. A The Burn Curate Peopleʼs Choice Award was announced on Facebook but
remains officially unacknowledged.
B There have been repeated queries for certificates of participation, that are yet to
be responded to.
PEOPLE HAVE WORKED HARD FOR YOU.
7 RETURN THE FAVOUR.
C Neither the contestants, nor their supporters have been officially thanked or
celebrated for their effort.

29. CO-ORDINATION IS THE KEY TO A
8 SUCCESSFUL COLLABORATION.
A Ensure better integration between the client, agency, events company, and
other partners so everyone works on the same plan, towards the same end.

30. A It is not enough to create a property, this must be seeded, choreographed and
supported until (and even after) it takes on a life of its own.
DIGITAL IS A LIVING MEDIUM. BE
9 PREPARED TO PARTICIPATE.
B Allow development and BETA time for every initiative that invites audience
collaboration.
C Invest in tracking tools to sharpen future efforts.

31. A Our forum erupted with personal accusations about NIFT and the judges when
team NIFT won at WLIFW.
B Burn was repeatedly accused of being partial to ʻthe NIFT tagʼ.
C A ʻWe hate Burn Curateʼ Facebook group was born, but has received no traction.
LOVE AND HATE ARE TWO SIDES OF
10 THE SAME COIN.
D Until date, most of these dissenters remain connected to our forum.
E They are usually the first to react and trigger reactions on it.

32. THE ROLE
WE PLAYED

33. 1 BROUGHT ALIVE ʻFIERCE CREATIVITYʼ
2 DELIVERED A BURN EXPERIENCE TO OUR AUDIENCE
3 GAVE BURN A HUMAN AND APPROACHABLE PERSONA
CONNECTED 15 TEAMS TO EVOLVE INTO A BURN
4 COMMUNITY
MANAGED THE CAMPAIGN THROUGHOUT THE
5 ACTIVITY

34. WHAT WE
SET OUT TO
ACHIEVE
Campaign evaluation

35. OUR CAMPAIGN RELIED ON A CLOSED USER
GROUP OF CONTESTANTS TO LAUNCH AND
PROMOTE IT WITHOUT THE SUPPORT OF ANY
OTHER MEDIA

36. CAMPAIGN TOUCH POINTS
1 DIRECT / email 2 INTERACTIVE /
online event, website, social
networking, online diary
3 GUERILLA / tagging, buzz marketing 4 EVENTS / on ground
Consumer involvement / WOM

37. BRAND OBJECTIVES CAMPAIGN OBJECTIVES
A Enlisting Burn evangelists who A Get our contestants to campaign for
epitomise our core value us instead of doing so ourselves
B Positioning Burn as a brand for B Collaborate with them to create
them, not just another energy drink a compelling Burn experience
C Let them choose Burn because they C Enable and inspire them to reach out
strongly relate to it and its brand vision to our audience on our behalf
IN THE LONG TERM, TO AMPLIFY BURNʼS BRAND VISION, ESTABLISH ITS
FUNCTIONAL AND EMOTIONAL BENEFITS, AND ULTIMATELY, TO INSPIRE
BRAND LOVE.

38. MEASURES OF
PERFORMANCE

39. PRODUCE AN
GET OUR CONTESTANTS AUTHENTIC SHOWCASE
TO CAMPAIGN FOR US OF BURNʼS ʻFIERCE
CREATIVITYʼ
Measured through ENABLE OUR
the kind of pull, CONTESTANTS AND
buzz and response Measured qualitatively
SUPPORTERS TO in terms of the
they generated on DIRECTLY REACH OUT
Facebook and the Burn involvement generated
TO THEIR EXTENDED by the online event and
Curate site NETWORKS forum
Measured by an
estimation of the share
of voice this campaign
generated on
Facebook and the
traffic on our website

40. 3% 28% 7%
SHARE OF
VOICE
WLC
Pearl Academy
NIFT
Pearl Textile
JD Institute
Fashionista
ModArt
16% 27% 10% 9%

41. THE TEAMS WITH
THE MOST FRIENDS
ON FACEBOOK
WALKED AWAY WITH
THE MOST VOTES.TA-DAH!

42. THE CAMPAIGN
SNOWBALLED AND
WAS TAKEN ON BY
THE NEW BURN
SUPPORTERS.

43. THEY PROVOKED
FURIOUS
PARTICIPATION.

44. THEY STAYED WITH
US THROUGH 8
DAYS (AND NIGHTS).

45. A CAMPAIGN THAT RESULTED IN
BEGAN WITH
A 15 teams of Burn contestants A Over 10,000 visits on the website
to campaign for us during just the voting period
B Using only social media, B 4288 votes registered for the Burn
a closed user group and no Curate WLIFW Challenge, i.e. an
mainline support approximate 60% conversion rate
C With a total spend of C Over 200 photo tags, 490 photo
approximately 5 lakhs comments, 400 comments on the
Burn Curate Facebook forum

46. 360 CANS 8 DAYS
3 SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
500 PHOTO COMMENTS
212 PHOTO TAGS
10003 WEBSITE VISITS
4288 VOTES 630
FRIENDS 15 TEAMS
1 DESIRE 1 DRINK

47. TODAY, OUR FACEBOOK
COMMUNITY CONTINUES
TO GROW AND CONNECT
WITH EACH OTHER.
IT CURRENTLY HAS OVER 630 FRIENDS.

48. The afterparty
May 21 2010
Winner controversy
April 03 2010
WLIFW winner announced
March 23 2010 (6:30 PM)
Voting starts
March 21 2010 (12 PM)
WIP snapshots
March 19 2010 (6:30 PM)
Peopleʼs Choice Award
March 23 2010 (2 PM)
Score card uploaded
March 26 2010
Voting still not open
March 20 2010 (3:30 AM)
Votes donʼt reflect
March 21 2010 (6 PM)

49. ANALYSING
THE PSYCHE
OF OUR
CAMPAIGN

50. LAUNCHED BURNʼS 15 TEAMS
OF FIERCE CREATORS.
Flourished on controversy and competition.
Inspired fierce loyalties.
Showcased a spectacular display of passion, resource,
and creativity on the part of our campaigners and supporters.

51. ADITYA KHARE (WLC)
FIERCEST CONTESTANT
Most desperate to win
Comment to karo yaar warna
main mar jaunga :(
Sala pure raat jaga fir bhi voting ki pro thik nahi
huiiiiiii…… lagta hai burn pena padega.
i am challenging u gr8 jury…….jis
tarah se tm log decision lete ho in next 5 yrs
mein tmare garments mein comment karunga
kynki tm se jyada to mjhe ata hai.

52. MANNU SACHDEVA (WLC)
FIERCEST SUPPORTER
This is her cause, not a contest
thng is for sure, u guys r gonna surely
miss me n remember me for ages.
Love u lot for dat :p
infact each comment of urs is making me angry,
'burning me'
help sumbdy's dream cum true...

53. SMRITI TULI JHA (MODART)
WILDCARD
Sparks off an entire controversy with a single post
who copied who :->

54. AREDATH SIDDHARTH (NIFT)
COCKY WINNER
Pops up post winning then vanishes again
keep your ideas to yourself honey...

55. SOURABH SASHWAT (NIFT)
FIERCE LOYALIST
its no use crying over spilt milk dear....
it is not the end of ur creativity....may be the
jurisdiction was wrong...it must be oppossed
but yes...wid certain dignity and
process....facebook is not the ultimate
platform....work for ur better future...

56. DHRUV ARORA (NIFT)
FIERCE LOYALIST
after all we ar NIFITIANS. so if u dont
wanna help. bang ur head somwhr else.
Burn is beyond ur reach/imagination.
second aaye to khush raho... marr
kyun rahe ho.

57. WE INVITED OUR CAMPAIGNERS
TO A BURN AFTERPARTY AT
MOCHA ARTHOUSE ON MAY 21ST, 2010.

58. We spoke to our contestants over email and
followed up with phone calls.
Every one was thrilled about the Burn Curate afterparty.
Many wanted to bring their friends along.
The ones who had exams and submissions kept asking us to
move the party to July.
It was finally attended by the WLC, YMCA, Fashionista
and JD (North) teams.
Those who came to the afterparty gave us a telling story
of the Burn Curate challenge from their point of view.

61. HOW CAN WE MAKE
THE BURN CURATE CHALLENGE
A PHENOMENON AMONG HIP,
YOUNG URBAN INDIANS?

62. OPPORTUNITY TO
LAUNCH INDIAʼS
FIRST ONLINE
REALITY CONTEST?

63. CASE IN POINT

67. THE BURN CURATE
CASE STUDY
1 STRATEGIC APPROACH
4 CAMPAIGN ANALYSES
2 CREATIVE ELEMENTS
5 CONSUMER RESEARCH
3 TEN TRUTHS
6 WAY FORWARD FOR
BURN CURATE