Coca-Cola's New Blog
I just word got from Adam Brown, director of digital services over at Coca-Cola, that the soft drink giant with the world's most famous brand has joined the corporate blogging ranks.
Coke's inaugural corporate blog Coca-ColaConversations will cover a variety of topics from brand history to the value of collectibles. Phil Mooney, Coke's director of archives and a thirty year Company veteran, will be its first blogger.
With over 30,000 Coca-Cola items for sale on eBay, there is a lot of interest in the brand. Adam tells me that collectors and enthusiasts literally mob Phil at Coca-Cola memorabilia conventions, antique shows or flea markets across the country with stories about their Coke experience.
Accordingly, the goal for Coca-Cola's blog is "to share these same stories and engage in relevant discussions with a much larger audience."
Getting management approval was a lot easier than Adam had thought. Previously, Coke had participated in special blog projects, including the hosting of an Olympic blog during the Athens games in 2004, the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy as well as a blog during the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. They also hosted a successful internal blog in 2006 for their associates/employees.
In this case, they wanted to "develop a blog with a unique voice, topic and conversation spectrum that wasn't being delivered elsewhere." It is intended to complement the thousands of daily conversations about Coca-Cola on other blogs, message boards, forums and in social networking communities.
A top priority for management is to connect their heritage with present time activities.
Adam explained that this is just one example of ways that Coke is involved online. In recent years they also created programs with Second Life, YouTube, Facebook and their own branded destination sites like MyCokeRewards. Each program has different goals, but ultimately it is about reaching their audiences in a way that is relevant to them.
Given the strong interest in its brand and tradition, Coke's new blog is an appropriate first step. It will be interesting to see how Coke's future plans integrate all these online properties, including its presence on Facebook.
Even more interesting will be how Coke's blogging efforts evolve as an anticipated ensemble of other employees possibly take on more challenging topics -- whether it be recycling, new products, marketing, packaging and philanthropy. I am hoping to see that Coke is as transparent about these issues as it is about memorabilia and nostalgia. That will be a true test of Coke's new media mettle and add some fizz to the blogosphere.
Let me get back to you.
Tags: Phil Mooney, Coca-ColaConversations, Adam Brown, Coke, Coca-Cola, Coke corporate blog, Coca-Cola blog, Coke blog, Coke memorabilia, Coca-Cola memorabiliaLink to original post