The strategy, which also includes mobile-enabled in-stadium interactions, is part of a bigger, multi-channel effort that is integrated with NCAA Men?s Final Four series in Indianapolis, IN. Using what Coca-Cola calls ?drinkable advertising,? the campaign is designed to encourage trial of Coke Zero among college basketball fans in Indianapolis and at home. 

 

?The uniqueness of the campaign can be summed up as simply as, it's never been done before,? said Danielle Henry, group director of integrated content marketing at Coca-Cola North America.

?We collaborated with our agency, Ogilvy and Mather New York to create a new and different way to generate trial all starting with technology that most millenials are familiar with and have installed on their phones,? she said. ?By partnering with Shazam, we are able to use their sound recognition as a way to communicate how delicious a Coke Zero is and seamlessly deliver a coupon to try one.? 

The Coke Zero campaign is focused on trying to turn traditional advertising elements into immediate trial opportunities. By making it easy and fun to try Coke Zero, the campaign hopes to address the insight that many consumers think they know the beverage?s taste but actually do not.  

The idea of making advertising ?drinkable? is most evident in a 26-foot-by36-fott billboard located at March Madness Music Festival in White River State Park in Indianapolis. 

The billboard appears to dispense Coke Zero from a massive contour bottle through 4,500 feet of straw tubing that spells out ?Taste It? before carrying the liquid to a free sampling station on the ground.

There are several mobile elements of the campaign. 

For at-home viewers, Coca-Cola will air a new spot during broadcasts of the semifinal games on April 4 and April 6 depicting Coke Zero being poured from a contour followed by a prompt to Shazam the ad. 

Using the mobile engagement application Shazam, viewers will be able to watch the experience migrate from their TV to their mobile device. The Coke Zero bottle will continue to pour within the Shazam app until the glass is full. Ultimately, viewers will be presented with a mobile coupon redeemable for a free 20-oz. bottle of Coke Zero at participating retail locations. 

Attendees at semifinal and national championship games at Lucas Oil Stadium will be able to get in on the fun by using their mobile devices to engage with video boards in the stadium, with thousands of spectators able to simultaneously receive a coupon for a free Coke Zero on their mobile devices while watching the drinkable ads. 

The drinkable ads will also appear on HD Video Boards at the Coke Zero Countdown Concert at White River State Park.

Coca-Cola will also leverage mobile for a contest between fans of opposing competing teams. 

A the Coke Zero Countdown Concert on Saturday, selected fans from opposing Final Four Teams will be able to use the microphone in their smartphone as a straw to see who can finish their bottle of Coke Zero from two digital screens near the concert stage. 

The winner will earn free Coke Zero for their team's fans in the audience.

Mobile will also play a role in activating a kiosk at the Circle Centre Mall in Indianapolis. Passersby will be able to Shazam the ad, turning their phone into a straw that people can use to virtually drink the liquid on the screen. 

Once the bottle is empty, the user will receive a code to redeem for a free Coke Zero at an exclusive vending machine, located on the first floor of the mall. 

Sports marketing?
The effort extends to print with a flyer that will be given out at the games. Recipients can pull a straw away from the flyer and take the coupon on it to a participating concession stand for a free Coke Zero. 

Additionally, throughout Indianapolis, people dressed in what appear to be authentic Coke Zero vending machines will randomly reward passersby with free Coke Zero. 

Coke Zero's drinkable advertising campaign was developed in partnership with Ogilvy & Mather New York. 

The campaign addresses how consumers are increasingly consuming content from their mobile devices, including sports related content. 

?An important piece of the digital engagement for us is making sure we are ?fishing where the fish are,?? Ms. Henry said. ?Over the last several years we?ve recognized the explosive growth in content consumption on mobile and have ensured our NCAA mobile investment was aligned to consumer behavior.  

?Our partnership with Shazam for the first drinkable broadcast commercial allows us to literally put a Coke Zero in the hands of everyone who engages with the commercial,? she said. 

?We continue to see impressive engagement through the March Madness Live app where we have partnered to provide a single access point for sports fans to watch games and interact with friends via social media. We know that March Madness Live Streams are up 7 percent and total visits up 19 percent since last year, the majority of streams coming from mobile ? so it?s a place that has been very important for Coke Zero to have presence that connects with fans where they are.?