In a conversation with afaqs!, Jonathan Mildenhall, vice-president, global advertising strategy and creative excellence, Coca-Cola, talks about his dislike of the fact that Coca-Cola is at the No.3 position in the cola drink category, and how the company is using Content 2020 and the Liquid approach to create better communication strategy for brand Coke in India.
While globally it is the No.1 cola drink, the curious case of Coca-Cola in India is very different. The king of the cola category in India is the home-grown brand, Thums Up. In a conversation with afaqs!, Jonathan Mildenhall, vice-president, global advertising strategy and creative excellence, Coca-Cola, talks about his dislike of the fact that Coca-Cola is at the third position in the cola drink category and how the company is using Content 2020 and the Liquid approach to create better communication strategy for brand Coke in India.
Edited Excerpts
What is Content 2020? When did the idea strike?
Content 2020 started at the beginning of last year. I got 40 people from all the global offices of The Coca-Cola Company who were responsible for advertising and I gave them a massive piece of home work. I asked them various questions – what is the role of social media, how are we going to build a content distribution platform, what's the role of sustainability and many more. These 40 people came to Atlanta and presented their theories for 45 minutes each. Each theory was then mashed and broken by the other 39 people present in the room. So by the end of the week, that is a Thursday night, my head was full of bits and pieces of ideas talked about by all these people. That night I stayed up and worked on these broke ends and conjured the concept of 'Content 2020'. The next day, on Friday morning, I presented the idea and from there on, we have been building all our communication around this concept.
How important is Content 2020? Will the company move towards Content 2021 in the future?
Content 2020 is important for us as the company is shifting towards what we call 'not globalisation' rather greater focus on global brands. We know that there are 'those' brands that bind the company together and have shareholder value.
After producing Content 2020, we gave it to the marketing industry at Cannes last year and have also uploaded it on YouTube. The reason for doing this – we really want the creative industry to take it, analyse it and tell us where it is good and the areas it lacks in – and yes, in the future, inspire us to do Content 2021.
With much importance given to the art of story-telling, how does The Coca-Cola Company work?
Interestingly, Coke follows four ways of storytelling - serial, multi-faceted, spreadable and immerseable, and engagement for various brands under its banner. For example, Fanta follows a more 'serial' kind of story-telling because it has the same kind of casting and follows one particular style. But when it comes to brand Coke – it varies. For instance, it used serial story-telling through the 'Open happiness' franchisee and then counts on fan 'engagement' story-telling through Facebook. So for brand 'Coke' we strategically use all of them as and when required. But in case of other brands, we try and follow a single format.
In India, Coca-Cola has mostly restricted itself to traditional advertising and has relied less on the concept of 'Liquid and Linked'. How is that going to change?
I do not use the word 'digital' in Content 2020 at all because I do believe in a more 'Liquid' approach and I feel ideas should be all over the place. I am very provocative with the advertising industry when I say that the death of the industry will be the 30-second TV ad. If the industry continues to focus on 30-second TV ads, it will die. Having said this, the focus on the 30-second commercial has to be limited. There will always be a place for it but it has to be a gateway to a more enjoyable and immerseable world. In order to create a gateway, the traditional and digital world will have to be united with more concentration on the interactive space.
I am particularly proud of two things from the Indian business – Thums Up and Coke Studio. Both are perfect examples of '70/20/10 per cent communication strategy'. How this works is of the entire 100 per cent marketing budget, 70 per cent is allocated to low-risk media options such as television, OOH, print and radio; 20 per cent is allocated to online; and 10 per cent is invested in high-risk media properties. So both started with 10 per cent, then increased to 20 per cent and now have a different strategy altogether.
When I come back to India this year, I will take a look at the creative plan and expect it to be driven by more 10 per cent ideas. The India unit should get comfortable in moving out of traditional media.
In India, Thums Up is the No. 1 cola drink, with Coke at No. 3. Does it hurt?
Indian affinity to Thums Up is huge. The consumer base is extremely loyal and in the cola category, it leads. This is a unique challenge for the Indian business unit. As a global system, we do not think of a situation when Coke is not the No. 1 cola drink and here in India it is exactly that. The straight answer is - I don't like that brand Coke is at No. 3; I would like Thums Up to be at No. 2 and Coke at No. 1. That would have made me happier.
Nevertheless, we want to make Coke as iconic and as powerful as Thums Up, but without compromising on the latter on any shape or form. What is interesting to observe is having the global icon and the national icon live together side by side, and both doing well. It is a complicated challenge, but also a fascinating one.
This year, you moved the creative duties of Coca-Cola to Lowe Lintas & Partners from McCann Erickson. Has it become in-vogue for brands to add agencies in their roster?
As a company we prefer to stay true to our existing philosophy. I don't think any advertiser wants to change a roster because it is hard work as it involves many layers of work. The process is very tedious – right from finding out whether the agency understands the core value of the brand, will it be the right fit and many more. Having said that, we also have the responsibility to ensure that we always work with the best minds to produce the best work. In this case, it was interesting to get a new perspective from a different agency. I am very grateful to the work that McCann Erickson has done in this market for so many years and also continues to do on a global basis. But I do think the new relationship has provided a chance to develop a new perspective for brand Coke.
As both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have got busy in expanding portfolio of products, the cola category has lost its fizz. Is competition no longer important for Coca-Cola?
I think we are best when we focus on ourselves. And while we are aware and respectful of the competition, we are not engaging in a competitive competition. Earlier, we used to be all over the world actually. But now things have piped down between the two major competitors publicly. We are focusing on ourselves and so we are getting healthier and stronger. So is the case with the competition, which is also getting healthier and stronger. Though we like strong competition but it is not as scrappy as it used to be.