Coca-Cola is about to find out if it successfully taught the world to sing.
The soft drink maker’s Canadian arm has partnered with MuchMusic on an extensive marketing program called “Covers,” which invites viewers to record themselves singing one of six popular songs and upload it to a dedicated web site.
The program is part of a global teen-recruitment platform called Coca-Cola Music that got underway in Canada early this year courtesy of a partnership with iTunes called “Get a Coke. Get a song.”
“When you think of music, it’s one of the most compelling and universal expressions of happiness,” said Sandra Shatilla, senior integrated marketing manager for Coca-Cola Canada in Toronto. “That’s what teens are all about–they’re all about expressing identity and community.
“When we looked at what is that one true global thing that can touch every teen around the world… it comes down to music.”
While teens have traditionally been the focus of Coca-Cola’s marketing efforts, Shatilla said the current music-related program is about “reconnecting with a new generation.” The core demo for the beverage giant’s music-related outreach is people 13-24, with a “bulls-eye” of people 13-18, she said.
For the Covers program, each video submission will be rated by a jury of their peers, culminating with one person being named the Covers winner at the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards in June.
Each of the program’s four stages will be complemented by a series of co-branded spots created by CTV’s creative services department and running both on broadcast and online, as well as MuchMusic’s social media platforms. The program was developed in conjunction with Coca Cola’s media agency UM Canada.
In Quebec, Coca-Cola is partnering with Much’s French-language sister station MusiquePlus on “Les Covers,” which employs a similar structure but augments songs by well-known global artists with popular music that reflects Quebecois culture. The program features three grand prize winners, who will open “big” concerts in Quebec.
“When I first started thinking about the teen program and the strategy, it came to me that MuchMusic would be the perfect partner,” said Shatilla. “Traditionally, what you would see is brands go in and run a TV spot, take a sponsorship and put a logo, and then they’d be done.
“What I wanted to do differently was really engage with MuchMusic, and say ‘How can we do something very different that hasn’t been done before and can really connect with teens?’ ”
Teenagers are a key focus for Coca-Cola as part of its global 2020 Vision program, which calls for the soft drink company to more than double its worldwide revenues to US$200 billion and servings to more than three billion per day by 2020.
