Recession is a massive opportunity for Coca-Cola: Jonathan Mildenhall

ET Bureau Jun 21, 2013, 05.11AM IST
("In times of economic uncertainty,…)

From vending machines that enable Coke drinkers to send a free drink to someone over halfway across the world to shareable cans to blocks of ice that double up as bottles, Coca-Cola has emerged as one of the world's most daring, audacious marketers. Brand Equity caught up with Jonathan Mildenhall, VP of global advertising strategy and creative excellence at the Coca-Cola Company for a quick Q&A on the sidelines of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

What are the impulses that have driven the changes at Coca-Cola from purely TV-led work?

The average consumer will drink non-alcoholic beverages 10 times a day. I want to make sure our brands are the most salient. We don't have the bandwidth to create the content that will be in front of people 24 hours a day. Our job is to make brands top of mind more often than our competitors. If I can get our fans, particularly on social media, behaving like marketing directors, that's a gift, inspiring them to share and talk about the brands. That keeps us top of mind whether at a gas station, a fast food court or home.

We are committed to maintaining our position as the world's preeminent marketing organisation. This approach allows us to attract and retain the best marketers. It helps build a substantial employee brand if the creative agenda is high profile as it can be.

Coke has managed to avoid the trap of the technology overwhelming the message. What guidelines drive your communication?

When I first came to Cannes three years ago, I didn't have the digital mandate. I knew we were going to integrate technologists with storyteller, and came to learn about digital, technology and mobile. I wrote a paper and told everyone that Coke has to be in pursuit of ideas where you can't separate technology from the idea. Technology works best when it becomes invisible.

How has a more or less global recession affected your business?

It's a massive opportunity. Coke is one of the world's most democratic brands. Its price point is accessible to more people than anything. At a time of economic uncertainty, it can be a simple accessible moment of happiness and pleasure. Also, in such times, the job of a marketer is to lift up the brand and talk about the value of happiness and humanity. It's a gift to be responsible for managing the direction of Coke since its price point and cultural belief are distant from each other.

How do you manage to align so many diverse partners behind a single vision - especially at a time when it is being represented differently in various parts of the world?

We wouldn't be as successful today if we hadn't made Content 2020 (Coca-Cola's stated aim to move from creative excellence to content excellence) public on YouTube. All of our agencies decoded it and used it as a Trojan horse to sell brave ideas back into our system. It's organised not just by the company but by agencies in terms of the criteria to create excellence.