Coke Wants Its Fans To Enjoy A Click And A Smile

It’s no surprise that the Coke, number one brand in Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2009, is moving more aggressively into the digital marketplace. Coca-Cola's longtime success owes much to their ability reach customers in ways that go way beyond the actual product.

Pepsi, who has targeted younger cola fans for decades with pop-culture icons from Michael Jackson to Britney Spears, is ahead of Coke in online branding—and not just for the under-21 texting crowd. The brand is launching Pepsi We Inspire, a digital community intended for African-American moms. Pepsi understands that, especially in the long-tail world of the Internet, there’s no single “Pepsi Generation.”

Coke is taking steps to catch up, leveraging the 13 million names involved in its My Coke Rewards points-for-purchase program to "build relationships with consumers that are very different from the ones you gain through TV ads,” according to Coke’s chief marketing and commercial officer.

Moving beyond television, Coke is trying branded apps for Facebook and the iPhone.

All good news for Coke, though you have to wonder: why did the brand wait until now to announce such a strong digital push? Did it not learn anything from the explosively viral nature of Diet Coke/Mentos eruption videos?