Superbrands & content: Coca-Cola's strategy [case]
Posted: Sat Jan 18, 2025 6:15 am
'Big' and 'small' content strategies? Not the usual descriptions, but they do fit what I want to show you. What are the pros and cons of going big (global) or small (local) with your content strategy? I want to explain it to you using two cases. We start on a big scale: with a critical look at what Coca-Cola has produced in terms of content since the launch of their sensational 'Content 2020' strategy. This also provides food for thought about your own content strategy.
Coca-Cola = superbrand
If you ask a random person to name a few major global brands or 'superbrands', chances are that Coca-Cola will be the first name that comes up. The stereotypical American company with the well-known red and white logo has consciously chosen to invest primarily in the overarching brand name and to give the many brand names below it (around 500 worldwide) less prominence.
The value of Coca-Cola as a superbrand is almost impossible to express in money, yet it must continually be invested in marketing to keep moving as a brand. Maintaining or improving your global australia telegram number list awareness and reputation as a global brand is no easy task. Everything you do is magnified and can have enormous consequences. This is evident from the unmissable stories about lawsuits and environmental damage that haunt not only Coca-Cola, but also other global brands.
Content Strategy at Large: Content 2020
With that thought in mind, I started rereading an older article by Joe Pulizzi. Pulizzi is one of the most well-known representatives of the Content Marketing Institute and an influential writer and speaker in his field. While rewatching the videos that he and his colleague Robert Rose consider a very important content marketing document (' a manifesto '), I was struck by the amount of well-known content strategy components and the somewhat megalomaniacal and at the same time hackneyed-sounding mission statement (" every employee needs to ensure our brands succeed... in the way that makes the world a better place " ). I was therefore surprised by the enthusiasm of Rose and Pulizzi, who should (re)cognize these components and expressions like no other as fairly standard parts of a content strategy and a mission statement .
Rose’s interview with Jonathan Mildenhall, Content 2020’s ‘head storyteller’, reveals that the content strategy is intended to complement the traditional marketing the company has outsourced to many agencies. As such, the scale at which the strategy is being rolled out is admirable. Maintaining control over the allocation of budget to traditional and more ‘daring’ parts of the strategy (the 70/20/10 investment model) is what makes Content 2020 a striking example of content direction.
Mildenhall was looking to integrate ' immediate stories ' into the larger brand storytelling. He says the firm is still primarily trying to reach new consumers, also for financial reasons: “ Believe it or not, we're still engaging with new consumers that don't have their emotional well filled. ” So filling that ' emotional well ' is an ultimate goal of the strategy, and it may cost a bit; it is an investment after all.
Special claims
What is striking about the video are the rather bold claims that are made in it and some strange remarks that you would not expect in a content strategy document of a global brand. Three examples:
Example 1:
“.. and through the stories we tell, we provoke conversations and earn a disproportionate share of popular culture ”. It sounds rather immodest to call this a ‘deserved result’ for what you still have to achieve.
Coca-Cola = superbrand
If you ask a random person to name a few major global brands or 'superbrands', chances are that Coca-Cola will be the first name that comes up. The stereotypical American company with the well-known red and white logo has consciously chosen to invest primarily in the overarching brand name and to give the many brand names below it (around 500 worldwide) less prominence.
The value of Coca-Cola as a superbrand is almost impossible to express in money, yet it must continually be invested in marketing to keep moving as a brand. Maintaining or improving your global australia telegram number list awareness and reputation as a global brand is no easy task. Everything you do is magnified and can have enormous consequences. This is evident from the unmissable stories about lawsuits and environmental damage that haunt not only Coca-Cola, but also other global brands.
Content Strategy at Large: Content 2020
With that thought in mind, I started rereading an older article by Joe Pulizzi. Pulizzi is one of the most well-known representatives of the Content Marketing Institute and an influential writer and speaker in his field. While rewatching the videos that he and his colleague Robert Rose consider a very important content marketing document (' a manifesto '), I was struck by the amount of well-known content strategy components and the somewhat megalomaniacal and at the same time hackneyed-sounding mission statement (" every employee needs to ensure our brands succeed... in the way that makes the world a better place " ). I was therefore surprised by the enthusiasm of Rose and Pulizzi, who should (re)cognize these components and expressions like no other as fairly standard parts of a content strategy and a mission statement .
Rose’s interview with Jonathan Mildenhall, Content 2020’s ‘head storyteller’, reveals that the content strategy is intended to complement the traditional marketing the company has outsourced to many agencies. As such, the scale at which the strategy is being rolled out is admirable. Maintaining control over the allocation of budget to traditional and more ‘daring’ parts of the strategy (the 70/20/10 investment model) is what makes Content 2020 a striking example of content direction.
Mildenhall was looking to integrate ' immediate stories ' into the larger brand storytelling. He says the firm is still primarily trying to reach new consumers, also for financial reasons: “ Believe it or not, we're still engaging with new consumers that don't have their emotional well filled. ” So filling that ' emotional well ' is an ultimate goal of the strategy, and it may cost a bit; it is an investment after all.
Special claims
What is striking about the video are the rather bold claims that are made in it and some strange remarks that you would not expect in a content strategy document of a global brand. Three examples:
Example 1:
“.. and through the stories we tell, we provoke conversations and earn a disproportionate share of popular culture ”. It sounds rather immodest to call this a ‘deserved result’ for what you still have to achieve.