Coca-Cola Zero "Taste It To Believe It" Campaign

Campaign Title: Coca-Cola Zero – Taste it to believe it

Brand Name: Coca-Cola Zero

Campaign Duration: 1 March – 18 April 2008

Advertiser (Company Name): Coca-Cola Far East Limited (Singapore Branch)

Type of Product or Service: Carbonated Soft Drink – Coca-Cola Zero

Campaign Summary

Coca-Cola Zero was launched in Singapore early 2008. As the name suggests, the new Coke variant comes with zero sugar and logically, this benefit could easily win over health conscious consumers. The problem is, Singapore consumers are extremely skeptical about health claims by carbonated soft drinks brands. 

The product was launched with the aim of being a major volume contributor after original Coke variant and Coke Light by 2009. Bearing in mind the hurdle in consumer’s mind, the campaign was extremely successful in generating trial (37%) and by the end of 2008, Coke Zero has become a volume contributor equivalent to an established variant e.g. Coke Light.

Marketing Challenge and Objectives

Driven by health trends, the Singaporean beverage market is proliferated by brands and products with health and wellness offerings. The competition is so fierce that even healthier variants are entering the carbonated beverage segment.

The marketing objective was to generate enough awareness and trial for this new product among Singaporean consumers, that will eventually contribute as the 3rd largest volume contributor for the company, after Coke Classic and Coke Light by 2009.

Singaporeans are highly critical and practical. They will not believe in advertiser’s communication unless they have tried it out themselves, or unless it is an endorsement from their close ones. We are clear that the message that needs to be communicated is -“Real Coke Taste with Zero Sugar”. However, we are also aware that  consumers’ reaction will be – “ Yeah right, I won’t believe you.”

Target Markets

With the unique product proposition of “Real Coca-Cola taste. Zero sugar”, Coke Zero’s position is to target consumers who are:

• Coke Light rejecters because they find the taste to be unauthentic.
• Coke drinkers who are moving out from the category and looking for healthier types of  beverages.

Demographically, the target audience would be people moving into Young Adulthood (18-24 year-olds); generally more male-skewed (Coke Light rejecters). They are spontaneous, optimistic & streetwise, forming opinions, & defining their self-identity. They tend to be non-conformists - seeking a higher degree of freedom versus being controlled.

That said, the campaign should appeal to all Singaporeans aged 12-49 to garner the critical mass required for volume sales.

Strategy

Understanding that Singaporean consumers will not easily buy into “Real Coke Taste with Zero Sugar message, the strategy was to avoid preaching on the product and focus on maximizing trial interest among as many Singaporeans as possible via massive sampling and word of mouth before they can pass any judgements.

Singaporeans love freebies and they do not like to lose out on any benefits, however small or insignificant they are. Knowing that, we developed an activation concept based on the core concept “Buy all Singaporeans a Coca-Cola Zero (so you can taste it to believe it)”. 

The concept is to function as a double edged sword where the idea of a freebie from Coke is able to garner awareness very quickly via PR in the densely populated island as well as fulfilling the strategy via the sampling exercise itself.

With a limited budget and knowing that news spread fast in this small but densely populated city, an event that is massive and impactful will create a talk of the town. The creative concept of the campaign was aptly titled “Taste It to believe it”. The creative concept was developed into communication tools in various touch points to capture:

1. Key message of “Real Coke taste. Zero sugar. Taste it to believe it”, and
2. Proof points of Singaporeans tasting Coke Zero and believing the product promise

Teaser 

1. Giant Coke Zero bottle was placed at a prominent spot in Orchard Road, the most popular  and “happening” lifestyle and shopping street in Singapore.
2. Message of “Free Coke Zero to every Singaporeans” was  communicated via celebrity DJs from popular radio stations 987FM from location.
3. PR exercise via print and electronic media to announce Free Coke Zero on launch date. 

Activation

1. On the 1 March , launch event of Coke Zero at Orchard Road.
2. Every Singaporeans were given a Coke on the launch date in Orchard Road.
3. DJs from 987FM conducted live broadcasts to pull more crowd to come ‘taste it to believe it’. 

Mass Media 

1. TVC was launched on Channel 5, 8 and U. 
2. 250 bus shelter light boxes were deployed island-wide.
3. Footage and pictures of trial were captured as TVC and advertorial to enhance the message. 

Campaign Results and Measurements

• Coke Zero and the activation became the talk of the town! The campaign successfully generated trial beyond the activation exercise.
• Almost EVERY SINGAPOREAN has read about the brand and the activation story. Coke Zero and the activation was covered in almost all media in Singapore, with viewership/readership of more than 4 million. 
• Achieved an incredible 37% trial rate - four in ten Singaporeans have tried it since it was launched. (Source: Continuous consumer tracking by Research International Singapore, March – December 2008)
• Penetration and resulting consumption of Coca-Cola Zero still continues to grow (Source: Coca-Cola Vision, December 2008 internal tracking data) 
• 8 out of 10 Singaporeans are aware of Coca-Cola Zero –  81% brand awareness
• High penetration across all age groups: 41% of 12-24’s, 43% of 25-34’s, and 32% of 35+ year olds
• The equivalent of almost 18 million 330ml cans of Coca-Cola Zero have been enjoyed in Singapore in the last 12 months. 
• Coke Zero has ended the year with full year volume share of 42.7% of the non-sugar sparkling beverages category, coming a close second behind the leader in the category, Coca-Cola light which takes 44.4% of the non-sugar sparkling category (Source: Nielsen Retail Audit Jan – Dec 2008 )
• The launch of Coca-Cola Zero has also had a significant impact on the cola category as a whole, driving 9.2%* volume growth for full year 2008. Coca-Cola Zero has also driven Coca-Cola Trademark (Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, and Coca-Cola light)  achieving 14% volume growth, and now holds 5% share of the total sparkling beverage category (Source: AC Nielsen Retail Audit YTD December 2008)