"There's a strategic clarity of growth objectives driven by the
2020 Vision," said Shay Drohan, senior VP-sparkling brands. "We
can't afford not to talk to teens. You can't think, 'Teens already
know us,' and skip a couple of years. Every six years there's a new
population of teens in the world."
By 2020, one-third of the world's population, or 2.5 billion
people, will be younger than 18. And in the next 10 years, teens in
the U.S. will number 31 million.
To that end, Coca-Cola is readying its largest teen-focused
campaign to date, Coca-Cola Music. Given the rapid growth of the
teen market globally, Coca-Cola plans to take the campaign to more
than 100 markets. Six markets, China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria,
Pakistan and the U.S., will house half of the teen population by
2020.
Coca-Cola has been focused on making its efforts more global in
nature, something it's done for its Olympics and World Cup
efforts.
"Now there's a degree of global consistency, so everyone is
[targeting teens] at the same time," Mr. Drohan said. Before, one
country would focus on teens one year and then another year,
another country."
The company views teens broadly as 13- to 19-year-olds, which
requires the marketer to "look for the highest common denominator,"
Mr. Drohan said. "As we go around the world looking for insights
and understanding, we say, 'Is this something local that we want to
tap into or is this something more universal?'"
Coca-Cola Music, Mr. Drohan said, will resonate universally. He
said the campaign's "expenditure is in line with the future
potential of the [teen] market," but refused to discuss the
specifics of the budget. Coca-Cola spent about $2.9 billion on
global advertising expenses last year, up 4.5% from 2009, according
to its annual filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Coca-Cola Music kicks off later this month with "24hr Session,"
an event that 20 markets will actively participate in. On March 22,
Maroon 5 will hole up in a London studio for 24 hours, emerging
with a new original song. Fans will be able to interact with the
band, sharing their opinions and ideas for the lyrics and rhythms.
Using an interactive projection system, consumers' comments and
photos will be streamed onto the studio's walls
"This is the most ambitious and experimental effort in music
Coca-Cola has ever undertaken," said Joe Belliotti, director-global
entertainment marketing, of 24hr Session.