Wednesday 18 August 2010

Integrating Experiential and Social Marketing – The magic of Coca-Cola’s “Village” Experience

The term Experience Economy was first described in a book published in 1999 by B. Joseph Pine II and James H. Gilmore.  The author’s argue that businesses must orchestrate memorable events for their customers, and that memory itself becomes the product - the "experience".

Many big brands involved with Experiential Marketing have been wondering how best to integrate social media with live brand experiences?   Moreover, how to engage and integrate all participants as a part of the live event in a meaningful and relevant way?  Coca-Cola enlisted Isreali experiential agency Promarket to do just that.  The innovative Coca Cola Village experiential event synced everyone who participated.  Live in real-time. 

The Coca-Cola Village experience was run in 2010 through Facebook.  Perfect for their target’s technographic profile, a Facebook app allowed teenagers to easily register and participate.  The simple goal was to collect ten Coca-Cola caps, gather eight friends (who did the same) and gain exclusive entry to the Coca-Cola Village.  At the Coca-Cola Village, users were given a unique (RFID Microchip enabled) wristband that held their Facebook login / password - so all they needed to do was swipe when starting each new activity (now integrated with Facebook). Every time a user swiped, his or her Facebook status was instantly updated with what users were specifically doing at the event, keeping friends up to date in real time.   It get’s better.  The wristband also allowed for auto-tagging of all the photos taken at the Coca-Cola Village.


The results? The experience could accommodate 650 teenagers a day and the three-day Coca-Cola Village experience generated over 100,000 posts.   

Watch the Video Case Study


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Goodbuzz® is a Toronto-based Digital Agency that creates participatory media campaigns that entice consumers to play, create, and share brand experiences.  This is accomplished by focusing on developing "branded utility" - moving away from interruptive 'push' models towards more meaningful ways of connecting. From simple metrics to actionable insights that enable data-driven marketing decisions - Goodbuzz links social media efforts to business outcomes. Visit Goodbuzz or join us on Facebook. Any / all product names mentioned in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby acknowledged.