Coke's Cause Campaign Supports Polar Bears

Atlanta — The Coca-Cola Co. drew from its decades-old polar bear icon and its longtime partnership with the nonprofit World Wildlife Fund to produce an all-white limited-edition can for its winter "Arctic Home" campaign, which draws attention to how climate change has impacted the Arctic habitat. The soft-drink company "wanted to make a bold gesture at launch" at the outset of the holiday season by rolling out the white cans to reflect "the Arctic's snowy landscape," says Stuart Kronauge, senior vice president, Coca-Cola trademark marketing. "This initiative gives us the opportunity to use our significant reach to raise awareness and funds to help protect the polar bear."Reports surfaced that poor customer feedback (i.e., they mistook the cans for Diet Coke) prompted Coke to pull the white cans from the shelves earlier than the planned campaign end in February. But according to Kronauge, the white cans were rolled out as long as supplies lasted, with about 1 billion produced in the end along with another billion traditional red "Arctic Home" cans.The integrated marketing effort around "Arctic Home" included television, print and digital ads that encourage donations, with Coke matching all donations made via a package code by March 15, up to $1 million. The campaign nudged consumers to get involved as well as spread the word to families and friends using social media. Coca-Cola's MyCokeRewards website, Facebook page and Arctichome.com educated consumers about "Arctic Home." Consumers who donated could receive a "virtual parcel" and track the progress of the polar bear population. The Checkpoints program prompted shoppers to scan cans for points and a rich-media message about donations.The company also partnered with Laguna Beach, Calif.-based MacGillivray Freeman Films, producer of the IMAX film "To The Arctic 3D," by featuring sneak previews of the story of a mother polar bear and her cubs in a changing Arctic world," Kronauge says. Agencies working on the campaign included Leo Burnett, Chicago; Allidura, New York; 360i, New York; and Starcom MediaVest Group, New York.Among customized programs for retailers: an interactive iPhone and iTouch app developed in partnership with 7-Eleven that "encourages users to gain points by challenging friends to virtual snowball fights, entering codes found on Coke packaging, Slurpee and Big Gulp cups, and by checking into 7-Eleven stores," Kronauge says. "The more active a user is with the app, the more [they] are introduced to the polar bear's needs, and the more chances a user has to earn points and [gain] chances to win."Signs on Big Gulp and Slurpee machines in 7-Eleven stores promoted the "Snowball Effect" contest and sweepstakes, which ran Nov. 1 through Dec. 31. Signs and other P-O-P materials carried QR codes that iPhone users could scan to download the app. The promotion also included a limited-edition Slurpee flavor called Sprite Snowball Blast. The flavor was plugged on in-store signs and Slurpee.com.Kronauge didn't provide sales figures but did say that "our success will be measured by how well we raise awareness and funds for the polar bear." Funds raised go to support WWF's polar bear conservation work.

Coke's Cause Campaign Supports Polar Bears

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