Coca-Cola is one of the world’s truly global brands and its iconic bottles and cans are instantly recognisable just about anywhere on earth.
When the Coke Sleek brand was to be launched in southern Thailand’s 14 provinces, Coca-Cola’s local franchisee Haad Thip needed to find a way to showcase the product in an environment that matched the brand profile.
Coke Sleek is a sub-brand of the soft drink giant using a 240ml aluminium can instead of the normal 330ml standard one. Coke Sleek’s branding was designed to show that it ‘’responds to the dynamic lifestyles of teens and young adults whose need for convenient, ‘on-the-go’ packaging is on the rise’’.
But how to translate this brand message into a live event?
Aimed especially at those between the ages of 16 and 39, Coke estimated Sleek’s potential annual demand at about 10 million cans in southern Thailand.
Haad Thip had invested THB100 million (US$2.9 million) in its plants to turn out the new Coke can. Getting the message right was essential.
Coke director Colonel Patchara Rattakul commented: “As a ‘new and cool’ beverage, Coke Sleek required a glamorous venue for the launch. Located on Thailand’s paradise island of Phuket, Royal Phuket Marina complemented the event perfectly.”
Paiyalyai Marketing and Communications was taken on for event management to work with the team at Royal Phuket Marina.
For the marina, the event was also an opportunity to showcase its new convention and exhibition centre.
The venue was decked out in Coke colours. Signage and other elements were designed to look like the can.
The invitees came from groups that Coke believed were essential to the new brand’s success, first the retailers who would sell the cans, the media who could introduce it to a wider audience and celebrities who fitted the chic lifestyle the brand attempted to convey.
So, for the event, 400 representatives of Coke dealerships from 14 provinces across southern Thailand, as well as numerous media representatives and Phuket “high society”, descended on the marina for a night of music, food and drinks.
Coke was delighted by the event, securing considerable local media coverage and was able to cement its relationship with key clients. The Royal Phuket Marina was also able to bask in the media attention and showcase itself as an events facility to be reckoned with.
Andrew Jordan, the venue’s director of operations, said: ”We were delighted to host the Coke Sleek launch at Royal Phuket Marina’s International Exhibition & Conference Centre, it works fantastically for an event of this size and calibre.”
