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Coca-Cola places mobile at core of digital summer marketing

Coca-Cola is making a big bet on mobile and social this year to connect with consumers while outdoors in what the brand claims to be its biggest summer promotion to date.

Coca-Cola?s new Open for Summer campaign is aimed at getting families active this summer. The brand has created two microsites for the campaign ? www.MyCokeRewards.com/Summer and www.CokeSummer.com ? both of which are optimized for mobile and desktop devices.

?The goal of the cokesummer.com is to encourage consumers to pick up an ice-cold Coca-Cola and get out to enjoy summer,? said Deanna Lazzaroni, director of integrated marketing content at Coca-Cola North America, Atlanta.

?Summer happens outside, not in front of a computer screen, so we wanted to make sure that our fans could access the Open for Summer experience through their mobile device,? she said.

?Here, they can continue to use points collected from our Coca-Cola summer packaging to retrieve rewards, even in real-time while they are enjoying their best summer moments.?

Mobile happiness
Coca-Cola is giving away prizes each hour of every day through Labor Day this summer via the www.MyCokeRewards.com/Summer site.

To participate, consumers need to create a My Coke Rewards account.

Consumers can then enter special codes found on packages of Coca-Cola into the site.

Six different summer-themed codes are found on Coca-Cola 12-packs, 20-packs and 24-packs.

Once the code is entered, users will receive a coupon for 40 percent off of branded items and can access summer rewards.

Prizes include movie tickets, trips to theme parks and tickets to concerts and integrate with Coca-Cola?s partnerships this summer.

Brands participating in the program include AMC Theatres, Delta Airlines, Busch Gardens and McDonalds.

For example, consumers can enter codes for a chance to win a $10, $50 or $500 McDonald?s Arch Card. The gift cards are being given out every hour, and the promotion runs through Sept. 2.

On the www.CokeSummer.com site, users can watch a minute-long video that highlights some of the ways that families can get active this summer.

For example, the video features consumers hanging out at the beach with Coca-Cola products.

Mobile is social
Social media is also playing a big role for Coca-Cola this summer.

These initiatives are based on how consumers use their mobile devices from a mobile device and includes the hashtag #BestSummerMoment.

Consumers are encouraged to tag photos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter that show how they are getting outside this summer.

 ?All year long ? but especially throughout the summer season, people are out and about accessing social content and sharing it via their mobile devices,? Ms. Lazzaroni said.

?We know that the hashtag #summer is one of the top 20 most popular hashtags used on Instagram,? she said.

?Therefore, we are leveraging it to encourage consumers to get out, create, and share their #BestSummerMoment with us. At the end of the day, it?s about having a mobile device in one hand and a Coca-Cola in the other.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York