Coca-Cola has seen its global sales volumes up 3% year-on-year, posting a strong performance in Q1 2023. Coca-Cola ’s namesake soda also reported 3% volume growth, while Coke Zero Sugar’s volume rose 8%. Its net sales rose 5% to $10.98 billion and organic revenue increased 12% in the quarter. This was largely driven by higher prices of Coke’s drinks.
The company attributed the sales boom to digital marketing and generative artificial intelligence (AI). Coca-Cola’s tech-infused pilots and experiments have resulted in increased retail sales and consumer engagement.
New Age Marketing
James Quincey, Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, said in February that the company’s new marketing model is bearing fruit. He gave the example of T20 Cricket World Cup – Coca-Cola leveraged AI and first-party data over the span of the 45-day tournament to deliver the content, which was further amplified through sports influencers, growing volume, and market share during the campaign period.
Quincey said the beverage company partnered with the Rock in Rio music festival in Latin America to create content accessible through live streams and in the Fortnight video game. As such, Coca-Cola boosted its reach beyond the 700,000 attendees to over 45 million consumers across the region. The company grew sales by 23% during the festival. Moreover, Coca-Cola partnered with a key online customer in Germany for branded experiences using its voice assistant.
The executive shared that Coca-Cola has shown improvement in synchronizing its demand creation and demand fulfillment by partnering with key retail customers to tap into consumption occasions for both premiumization and value initiatives. Quincey said the goal is to be a total beverage company everywhere.
Coke Studio
Coca-Cola reaches out to the youth through Coke Studio, an international music franchise that features studio-recorded music performances by established and emerging artists. The Coke Studio, after debuting in Pakistan in 2008, has gained traction at the global level. It expanded in May 2022 as a digital-first way for Coke to connect with emerging music talent and tie back to a “Real Magic” platform. The initiative includes QR codes on the packaging that can be scanned to access interactive digital experiences.
In February 2023, Coca-Cola launched Coke Studio Bharat: Apna Sunao to give stage to talented artists and unique voices. Arnab Roy, Vice President, of Marketing Coca-Cola India, and Southwest Asia, said Coke Studio is a globally acclaimed platform that aims to celebrate authentic regional music. He highlighted that Coke Studio Bharat connects the truly distinct cultural dots of various regions in the country with artists whose music is defined by their roots
Overall, Coca-Cola keeps updated with the latest technology. It has made efforts to stay on top of emerging technology trends to captivate the marketing world and its consumers alike.
