Coke's 'fans first' strategy emphasizes creating authentic fan engagement across social media platforms, fostering sustainable relationships with consumers. The approach prioritizes consumer-generated content and collaborative initiatives, enabling fans to interact meaningfully with the brand. As a result, Coke enjoys a highly engaged community compared to competitors like Pepsi, leveraging these interactions to drive brand loyalty and marketing effectiveness.

1. Coke’s “Fans First” Approach in Social CommunitiesMichael DonnellyGroup Director, Worldwide Interactive Marketing

2. How many Social Media “Experts” are in the house?

3. Working from the center…

4. 1.5 BILLION SERVINGS A DAYHistory of “painting the town red”…

5. our home page isn’t just coke.com, it is google.com

6. and today, I’d say…our home page isn’t just coke.com, it is google.com and hyves.nl and twitter.com and youtube.com and facebook.com and studiVZ.net

7. Consumers remind us every day that Coke is THEIR brand…On Facebook alone we’ve got: 4,600+ photos

8. 95+ videos

9. 500,000+ “likes”*- 90,000+ “comments”*(*just in the last 6 months)Facebook “2 Billion photo uploads a month - nearly 70 million a day…” USA TODAY 8/09

10. 5000 Mentions a Day - Here is a taste of what they are saying…Conversation Cloud for top terms mentioned on FB coca-cola fan page(September 2009)N = 1,276 posts**non-english language posts removedSource: Analysis of Facebook for Sept 1st – 30th 2009

11. General comments about the brand and other Coke products are top topics…Positive Conversation Tones“Coca-Cola is the best drink!!!! I love it...”“ALWAYS COCA-COLA!! funny add from Coca-Cola with Grant Theft Auto!”“DIET COKE IS WHERE IT'S AT YA'LL!!!! :)”AvailabilityIdeas/SuggestionsAdvertising“Biggest Fan”Other Coke ProductsGeneral CommentsConsumption Habits/AddictedLow Post VolumeHigh Post Volume“i am the # 1 fan. just ask anyone who knows me.”“I adore cola! I can drink it every day :D”“Anyone know if 'Kosher Coke' is available in Colorado??”“. . . Bring back the glass bottle it makes a difference”Negative Conversation Tones

12. And they are producing GREAT Content - for the LOVE of THEIR Brand

13. Sometimes we ask for it…Where have you had a Coke lately?“It was taken from the peak of the Iztaccihuatl, Mexico's third highest mountain. [At 5,230m... you can guess why was the bottle half-full! :-)]“Les Grand Montets near Mont Blanc French Alps 3275m”“NEVADO DEL TOLIMA KOLOMBIA 5.800 MTS...CHARLYTOONS”11

14. 120 Photos of Your Next Coke…12

15. 5,800 Times of day to enjoy a Coke…13

16. Our Fan Focused approach has yielded a Highly Engaged fan community…Coke fans interact with each other, and the brand, more than they do on any other top brand fan pages.InteractionS Per PostSource: FB Fan Page Analysis , Sept 2009*Interactions = likes + comments

17. In the past – We were not building sustainable relationshipsCampaigns Based onEarning Sustainable RelationshipsTraditional CampaignsFans/Follows/FriendsFans/Follows/FriendsTimeTimeTraditional Campaigns start from zero and abandon the audiencethey’ve amassed upon completion. Campaigns based on earning Sustainable Relationships leverage the existing audience and grow it for future use.

18. Our “Fans First” Approach: We will be Everywhere Our Consumers are in an Authentic “Member of the Community – Non BIG Brand Way”16Majority of our effortsEnabling Fans to Comment, Upload and Consume THEIR own consumer generated brand related contentStrategically targeted messaging insupport of our brand objectivesOur approach is designed to foster equitable engagement to earn sustainable relationships that are authentic, delightful and reciprocal. Being a Fan, Friend or Follower does not mean that they opted in to have advertising blasted at them.

19. Our “less about us-more about them” approach is getting noticedMissed Opportunity... Pepsi. The company makes a disappointing showing on Facebook…has 250,000 fans, a fraction of rival Coke's. The company mostly uses it as a channel for pumping out updates of marketing activities.MSNBC on 11/30/09

20. Coca-Cola “official” Social Communities…18

21. this is all great, but…how do we create compelling content in these online venues that celebrates the spirit of our brand and drives intent?

25. The Coca-Cola Happiness Machine…

26. Vitamin Water’s Flavor Creator…flavor creator lab environment within the vitaminwater facebook fan page24

27. Determined flavor via conversation mining & ranking…cloud tagging- shows the ranking of flavors and allows you to navigate for more information

28. Flavor voting…vote on a single flavor, flavor combinations or use the ‘wild card’ tovote for a flavor that didn’t make the top ten

29. Gaming determined functional benefit… do you need more energy?

30. Label design contest - a real-time collaborative workspace…28

31. The results…7+ minutes of engagement per app sessiontens of thousands of total votes40K unique label designers174% increase in fans29

32. Say hello to…connectblack cherry-limecaffeine + 8 key nutrientsmade by fans, for fans onin stores march 1st 30

33. So, We are all aboutFishing Where the Fish are…31

34. Integrating Campaigns with Common Social Solutions…32

35. Optimizing Functionality that Already Exists…33

36. Creating New Ones if Necessary…34

37. Clear Principles are a must to insure everyone is aligned…http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/socialmedia

38. Finally, Some Quick Lessons Learned…SMM is a tactic and should always be in support of brand objectivesThese platforms change frequently and can be very disruptiveKeep it simple and intuitive – fewer objectives is better and shorten users’ paths at every opportunitySilly to start from zero…“Viral” shouldn’t BE your strategy – just part of a comprehensive planClear the Legal hurdles first – this is new for everyone so legitimate questions arise around every cornerAlways work with pros…There is no “sticking your toe in the water”Each new Community is an entirely new market and should be treated as suchModeration is a must!