A consolidated look at Coca Cola world cup 2019 marketing strategy

Here's a look at the campaigns, activities, and subsequent results achieved as a part of the Coca Cola world cup 2019 marketing strategy.

In 2019, Coca-Cola entered into a five-year global strategic partnership with ICC to celebrate cricket. Initiated from India, the aim of the partnership has been to create memorable experiences for cricket fans across the world. Below is a summarized account of the Coca Cola world cup 2019 marketing strategy.

This partnership includes all ICC events around the world, including the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 in England and Wales, the ICC men’s and women’s T20 World Cup in Australia in 2020, the ICC Women’s World Cup 2021 in New Zealand and the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India in 2023 amongst other global tournaments. The partnership has strategically aligned Coca-Cola Company’s diversified portfolio with ICC’s unwavering focus to expand the sport’s footprint globally.

More than 100 days of innovative marketing
initiatives

Stirring up the excitement for the cricket lovers, Coca-Cola rolled out two new campaigns to celebrate
cricket with the fans. The campaigns were aimed at making the World Cup moments
special for the consumers with the simple pleasure of drinking a Coca-Cola.

In the early stages of the game when consumers were preparing for the tournament, Coca-Cola focused on building a Stock Up Ritual to be ‘Match Ready’. It featured Ranbir Kapoor and Paresh Rawal, who encouraged cricket lovers to be prepared in advance and stock-up Coca-Cola to relish every second of the World Cup.

Once the passion and emotions were running high for the event, Coca-Cola started conveying its core idea: Be the 12^th Man in its second campaign. The film symbolized the hopes and aspirations of Indian Cricket fans and their intense desire to see India win. ‘12th Man’ campaign was built around the simple idea that, ‘To be part of the team, you don’t need to be in the team’. The film featured ace cricketers Rishabh Pant (India’s 12^th man just before as he was selected in the playing 11 for IND vs ENG) and Yuvraj Singh with a voice-over by Ranbir Kapoor.

Going
Digital - ‘Phone the new moving TV’

A first-ever customized 12th man filter was created and more than 100 Mn consumers interacted with innovations such as the ‘Heart’ cheer button on Hotstar alone, which was shared Live during the game.

Embracing marketing innovations in the digital world to build seamless experiences for the consumers, select moments of the match were amplified before, during and after the match across social media. 

Coca-Cola’s portfolio garnered 770 Mn video views. 360 Mn impressions were garnered on ‘Branded Cards’ that were placed contextually during live games on Hotstar. Overall, the World Cup campaign garnered 4 billion impressions across social platforms with a reach of 70 mn till now.

The company created a line of innovations and which linked activations On-Ground and In-Ground for the consumers digitally. Special promotions were kicked-off to provide consumers an opportunity to win an all-expense-paid trip to London and watch World Cup match live along with other attractive prizes. PET bottles with a unique code under the labels were launched.

The company also ran contests on its own e-commerce website (Coke2Home), retail stores, cash and carry outlets, e-commerce, movie halls, and Kirana stores. 250 lucky customers got a chance to experience the Cricket World Cup in London. The on-pack promotion was also initiated to watch the finals in London which generated 3.9 Million entries.

Coca-Cola also made the World Cup Cricket moments special for consumers through its timely, contextual messaging. A special team was set up to create real-time contextual content, one-on-one communication with consumers and creating content for brand advocates across 21 cities in India and 6 languages.

Also Read: #CWC2019: How Pringles married its on-ground activation with social media this World Cup

Campaign Results and Highlights

• The campaigns received more than 180 Mn views on television and 200 Mn views on Hotstar and were appreciated by consumers and industry experts.
• Furthermore, Ravinder Jadeja also posted when he joined the World Cup playing squad. Many people from different walks of life including celebrities such as Sourav Ganguly, Suniel Shetty, and Paresh Rawal joined the chorus and congratulated the players.

Real-time
contextual content creation and one-on-one communication with consumers in 6
different languages led to;

• 4 Billion + Impressions across social platforms
  • 70 Million + Estimated reach
  • 160,000 Conversations
  • Overwhelming positive sentiment
• Over 100 Million consumers interacted with new age innovations such as the ‘Heart’ cheer button on Hotstar, and this was shared Live on the in-stadium screen
• 100 million more fans to be reached during semi-final & final
• during the live game for Coca-Cola’s portfolio
• 360 M impression on Branded Cards – contextually placed visual message during the live game on the Hotstar feed
• Over 100 million more fans to be reached during the upcoming matches

Taking the celebrations across borders

The palpable excitement got extended to other South West Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives to win consumers' hearts and become an essential part of the shopping basket.

In Bangladesh, consumer campaign ‘Go to England and Cheer for your team’ received 5.4 Mn responses and enabled 60 winners to visit England and cheer for the Bangladesh Cricket team. A new TVC campaign ‘England er Maati; Banglar Ghati’ – Land of England; Pride of Bangladesh focused on the cultural point of view and encouraged consumers to become loyal supporters.

On-ground tie-up with Bangladesh Cricket Supporters Association allowed Coke ambassadors to post content Live from the stadium. War room set up also enabled in amplifying the communications real-time during the matches, leveraging influencers and social media posts.

In Sri Lanka, the consumer campaign, ‘From Cap to Cup’ ran across 50,000 retail outlets and enabled 30 winners to England to cheer for the Sri Lankan cricket team. The company also partnered with select food chains to run consumer promotions.

The new World Cup TVC ‘Drink of Togetherness’ showcased how Coca-Cola is the beverage that brings fans together and encouraged them to become loyal supporters of the campaign. Coca-Cola was also the official sponsor of ICC World Cup 2019 match feed on the television. On-ground tie-up with Rupawahini channel captured Coke brand ambassadors cheering for the Sri Lankan team LIVE from the stadium. A war room was set-up to amplify real-time moments during the matches, leveraging influencers and posts on Facebook and Instagram.

8 other countries activated this property, including the United Kingdom for a strong on-ground and digital activation in the hosting nation itself.

ICC Cricket World Cup Final - Marketing Plans

During the upcoming matches, Coca-Cola will continue to showcase its commitment to Cricket.

It aims to reach 100 million more fans through multiple touchpoints, leveraging communities, digital & social media posts, and amplifying ‘Be the 12th Man’ on non-cricket platforms.

Coca-Cola brand ambassadors and influencers will encourage people to share their stories. Furthermore, the company will capture the cricketing moments through regional Voxpops featuring 12th man stories from the heartlands of India.

On Snapchat, there will be a filter with the 12th Man cap for consumers to express themselves and share their 12th man moments. 50 winners from Coca-Cola’s promotional campaigns will also feature as the brand ambassadors. It has also partnered with food aggregators to offer discounts on Coca-Cola and Cricket meals.