I wrote this post originally for Digital Canvas Retail October 8th, 2013
The desire to be closer to consumers as they move around can leave retail marketers with an unquenchable thirst for fresh ideas. CocaCola has an omnichannel solution, at least for techcrazed South Korea.
Coke has maintained a dominant marketshare among beverage brands in many countries, and it is working to maintain its longterm global brand position as mobile technology changes the rules of marketing. Many of its markets present challenges. For example, legacy brands in the UK got a terrific boost from sponsoring the Olympics, according to Brand Republic, but that special event is an increasingly distant memory.
Thus, Coke has embarked on a localization strategy that extends its "Open happiness" campaign. The plan is meant to enhance local marketing messages with the company's best digital marketing assets and resources.
One of the most successful strategies has been implemented in Asia. Digital Signage Today reported that Coke has South Korean customers literally dancing in front of its vending machines for a free soda. Customers dance to tunes from the South Korean pop band 2PM and can view themselves while dancing. Their moves earn points toward a free soda. The dance movements are captured with the same Microsoft Kinect technology used with the Xbox 360. A YouTube video showing customers dancing went viral.
This state of the art campaign shows how mobile and social media elements can offer complimentary inroads to relevant local networks. According to eMarketer, incumbents such as Naver and Tistory attract most of the youth market in South Korea a demographic that is quite attractive to Coke.
More globally known networks have just recently made strides in South Korean culture; Facebook has just surprassed Cyworld there. And South Korean companies have benefited from the growth of mobile technology in that country; in 2011, the percentage of South Koreans accessing social media via mobile phone jumped nearly 30 percentage points to 31.5 percent. And eMarketer made other key predictions about the South Korean consumer digital market, reflecting its status as a particularly advanced techinfluence market.
South Korea will surpass Japan for the world's highest mobile device penetration rate. A mobile marketing campaign investment in a deeply mobilecentric society could deliver a quick return. In an Ipsos survey, 54 percent of South Koreans said they had noticed an ad on their mobile phone. As a result of such high awareness, eMarketer expects one out of five ad dollars to go to the mobile channel. Gaming is quite popular in South Korea, and online games are expected to make up 80 percent of the gaming market there by 2014. This bodes well for the Coke campaign.
When a company partners with artists in a local market, gaining popularity outside that market can be icing on the localization cake. That is certainly true for South Korea. For example, PSY's Gangnam Style has become one of the most viewed videos on YouTube. Consumer brands may partner with artists who can achieve stardom in their homeland and appeal beyond their borders.
Coke's strategy is designed to maintain a delicate balance between being multinational and appealing to a local market. Competing beverage brands have begun making significant investments of their own, but that balance will be critical for Coke's longterm success.
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