Following on the heals of the seemingly-doomed-to-fail Bud.tv, Coca Cola has stepped out in faith to release a mobile social net for its Sprite brand (From NYT)
I applaud the effort. Here’s some detail gathered by the New York Times:
Sprite Yard, to be introduced in the United States this month, will look a lot like the social networking sites that have become popular on the Internet. Consumers will be able to set up personal profiles, share photos and chat online with friends, all using cellphones rather than computer screens.
People will type in codes from Sprite bottle caps to redeem original content, like ring tones and short video clips called mobisodes. Recently, one of the most redeemed prizes from Coca-Cola promotions has been virtual clothing and furniture to use in virtual online worlds, said Mark J. Greatrex, senior vice president for marketing communications and insights at Coca-Cola.
While the Times article quotes several pessimistic marketers, I’m not so quick to chuck this one onto the compost pile. With the “under the cap” points program, it sounds like this might be an extension of the successful “mycokerewards” program. I don’t know how much actual community will form among Sprite drinkers, but a rewards program could drive a lot of traffic and interaction and give the brand what it’s looking for.
Other Coke news: Coke to use less water.
I must admit I was a bit revolted when I heard this headline. I thought the story was about ways Coke would actually put less water (and more sugar and chemicals) into their beverage…you know, classic “share of stomach” kinds of stuff. In this case, I guess it’s the environment we’re trying to help, rather than our health.
