Category: Direct Marketing

Coca-Cola Light: The Return of Love in Brazil

A relaunch built on memory. And a ritual

In 2009 Coca-Cola Light was taken out of the Brazilian market. But even after its five year absence, 99% of Brazilians still had the brand in their minds.

So for their 2014 relaunch they identified 150 influencers that were also real Coca-Cola Light lovers. Then a special handmade suitcase was delivered to each one of them. The suitcase contained a personal letter with the relaunch news and a ritual to send Coca-Cola Light cans to special friends with their names handwritten on it. The results:

The move: turn influencers into messengers, not media

The suitcase is not “merch.” It is a delivery mechanism for a story and a behavior. The influencer receives the relaunch news. Then immediately passes it on, name-by-name, to people who matter to them.

Why this feels like love, not marketing

Handwritten names shift the tone. You are not forwarding an ad. You are sending a personal gift with someone’s identity on it. That makes the relaunch feel earned and human, especially after a long absence.

The relaunch job-to-be-done

Restart conversation and consumption fast by activating people who already love the brand, and giving them a simple way to recruit other “special friends” into the comeback.

Steal this play

  • When a brand returns, start with believers. Then give them a repeatable sharing ritual.
  • Use personalization as the transmission fuel. Names beat slogans.
  • Package the behavior, not just the product. The “how to share” should be inside the box.

A few fast answers before you act

What did Coca-Cola Light do for the 2014 relaunch in Brazil?

They identified 150 influencers who were genuine Coca-Cola Light lovers and delivered handmade suitcases containing a personal letter and a sharing ritual.

What was inside the suitcase?

A personal letter announcing the relaunch and a ritual for sending Coca-Cola Light cans to special friends with names handwritten on the cans.

Why use handwritten names?

It turns distribution into a personal gesture. The relaunch message travels as a named gift rather than a generic announcement.

What is the core mechanic behind the campaign?

Activate true fans first, then convert them into one-to-one distributors by giving them a simple ritual to pass the product on to friends.

The Office Turntable

Demo CD’s created by music labels are often treated like spam. So to promote the new track from DJ Boris Dlugosch, Kontor Records in Germany decided to send out an orange vinyl along with a 2D turntable as part of the direct mailing.

The people who received the mailing activated the turntable by scanning the QR code on it. This simple action enabled the missing piece of the turntable on the users smartphone which allowed them to play the music. The mailing was a huge success as 71% of the 900 turntable QR codes were activated.

Billboard On Hold Jam Session

Billboard Magazine features the best of pop music and entertainment in Brazil, and according to them waiting on hold is one the most boring music moments ever. So their ad agency AlmapBBDO created the “On Hold Jam Session” that made the moment into a fun interactive experience and showed the magazine’s concept of music and entertainment.

To make the magazine subscribers aware of this new on hold feature, they sent direct mails explaining how one could jam along with their phone buttons when they were put on hold at Billboard Magazine.