How Coca-Cola Adapted Its Olympics Campaign for China
Posted in: Uncategorized
At the 2012 Olympics, Chinese swimmer Sun Yang had a bad start to the 1,500 meter freestyle race, plunging into the water before the signal. But officials cleared him to try again; he looked into the stands and saw his mother place her finger to her lips, a signal for him to calm down and focus. He won gold and set a world record. Later, on his Weibo microblog, he thanked his parents for their support.
Coca-Cola and McCann Worldgroup were inspired by the relationship between Mr. Sun and his parents, and stories from other athletes, in their China campaign for this summer’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. It’s the local interpretation of Coke’s global “That’s Gold” marketing platform for the Olympics; the idea is that “gold” isn’t about winning for winning’s sake, it’s about sharing a dream or goal with family, friends, coaches and teachers.
The campaign is an example of how marketers in China try to tap into the national zeitgeist. China experienced years of fast-paced economic growth and development; growth has slowed, and the government has pushed to rebalance the economy to something more sustainable. That feeling has trickled down to ordinary people too, with a sense that after years of striving to get ahead, it’s time to take stock of what’s important.
Post a Comment