Coke Is Cooking, is Coca-Cola’s new international meals platform which kicks off in Kolkata, India. Representational picture: Frank Bienewald/LightRocket through Getty Pictures
Coca-Cola India is betting huge on meals and experiential advertising and marketing. The beverage firm has launched a mobile-led platform known as ‘Coke is Cooking’. The technique is to reinforce road meals experiences and music tradition all over the world. The model has kick-started this exercise in Kolkata, India. The platform will additional be scaled globally. Coca-Cola goals to host ‘Coke is Cooking’ festivals in a single metropolis on this planet each week of the 12 months in 2024. With this launch, the corporate largely goals to leverage customers’ ardour factors of music, meals, leisure, and extra, to attach and interact with them on a deeper degree.
In a dialog with Storyboard18, Arnab Roy, vp and head, advertising and marketing, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, signifies, 85 p.c of the model’s advertising and marketing funding goes to be on experiential and digital actions. Roy additionally shares how the model plans to amplify its advertising and marketing for the platform, and why it has no plans to get into model extensions within the meals class.
Edited excerpts.
Q. What’s the genesis of the worldwide meals expertise platform – ‘Coke Is Cooking’?
It is a international platform which is named ‘Is Cooking’. Basically, the identify of the town will fill in earlier than ‘Is’. It’s a worldwide occasion, and it’s first being kicked off in Kolkata. It will likely be known as “Kolkata Is Cooking”. After Kolkata, we’ll hit Hanoi, Vietnam. Then discover Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
Q. By way of meals content material, what are the patron insights that had been and are being witnessed which led to the launch of this platform?
Road meals will proceed to develop in India as a result of it’s seen as an experiential exercise. Most Indian cities together with Kolkata are happy with their road meals tradition. Our focus is to not solely to carry a few of the high meals chains in Kolkata collectively but in addition to get them in distinctive expertise zones. Folks need to check out new issues and need to share these moments on-line. As we speak, every part appears Instagrammable. We need to seize each second the place customers are having enjoyable with meals, music, and different issues when they’re in our expertise zones.
Q. What are the goals or targets you purpose to realize by way of the worldwide meals platform?
Many of the consumption of Coca-Cola manufacturers occurs over meals. The closest instance is McDonald’s. If one goes to McDonald’s, chances are high excessive that the meals could be paired with Coke. We now have these incidence numbers.
Within the US, the quantity is near 45 p.c. When individuals are out and order meals, I believe they’ve a Coke too together with it. In India, it’s a low single digit. So, a possibility to extend penetration on these events could be very excessive. I don’t assume we’ve got sufficient to offer that have to individuals of getting chilled Coke with some good spicy road meals.
As we begin visiting a number of cities to activate this, our purpose is to attach customers with their native tradition.
Q. What are the advertising and marketing methods in place to amplify this? And what are the weather that can be thought-about in advertising and marketing the platform?
The worldwide platform is mobile-led, and we’re working with near 25 influencers in Kolkata. They embody radio jockeys and meals bloggers. Even former nationwide cricket captain Sourav Ganguly can be part of this. We’re going to be doing reside streaming with Reliance JioMart the place we can be discussing all about meals.
This 12 months we launched Coke Studio Bangla. It has develop into the second largest Coke Studio worldwide after Coke Studio Pakistan. We now have on board musicians from this area who can be collaborating with artists from Bangladesh. This platform is totally digital-led. 85 p.c of Coca-Cola’s advertising and marketing funding goes to be experiential and digital actions.
Q. At a time when individuals are aware about their meals decisions, what does the model need to accomplish by way of this platform?
India continues to be one of many least penetrated markets in our class. It’s not that each Indian is gulping down glowing drinks every day. Our job is to extend penetration and provide you with extra events for customers. We’re not saying to have it on a regular basis. Have them, while you need to have some enjoyable. Constructing the event with meals is essential, and these are the issues that can assist us set up that event.
Q. What are your expectations from ‘Coke is Cooking’?
Within the subsequent few years, I need to make this platform top-of-the-line meals property. Like Coke Studio has been constructed for music, this platform serves as an important alternative for us to construct an experiential meals platform that could be a residence away from residence.
Q. Does Coke have any plans for model extensions within the meals class, particularly within the well being area?
We’re not on this planet of meals however on this planet of drinks. I, actually, imagine that we’re not serving any non-healthy merchandise. Most of our merchandise are licensed underneath one of the vital stringent norms each in Europe and the US. Based mostly on loads of meals and drinks which might be accessible within the nation, I don’t assume we’re serving something unhealthy.
The query is: are they wholesome merchandise? We by no means claimed that they’re wholesome merchandise, and there’s a distinction in that. It’s a product available when one desires to get a bit of little bit of refreshment when one desires to get a bit of little bit of upliftment. It’s completely protected available.
Manufacturers like Smartwater—bottled water model, owned by Vitality Manufacturers, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Firm—are already current available in the market. We now have plans to introduce much more.
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