Warc, 5 May 2014
SHANGHAI: Coca-Cola, the soft drinks giant, has announced
the launch of a socially responsible bottled-water brand in China with the aim
of targeting millennials and bringing clean drinking water to schoolchildren in
rural areas.
Its Ice Dew Chun Yue brand, which means "Pure
Joy", seeks to address concerns in China about water contamination and it
focuses on Chinese millennials because they're vocal about societal issues,
Advertising Age reported.
Coming with the strapline "Drink Good, Do Good, Feel
Good", it is hoped sales will support charitable initiatives from the One
Foundation, which campaigns for water sustainability among other issues.
However, Coke is not getting involved purely for altruistic
reasons, as Pratik Thakar, head of Asia-Pacific creative and content excellence
at Coca-Cola, explained to Campaign-Asia.
"This is not just a CSR [corporate social
responsibility] project, but a real brand for Coca-Cola," he said, while
noting that the initiative is significant for the entire company and is very
likely to be extended to other markets.
He said Chinese millennials aged 20 to 35 will be targeted
because they're more interested in societal and environmental issues than older
generations and they frequently use social media to air their views.
"They like to think and discuss, they are very active
in social media like Weibo and WeChat about social issues, however they are not
very proactive in doing things that tackle those issues," Thakar stated.
Coke wants to link the brand to that generation's interest
in social activism, which will mean "the marketing communications becomes
a social movement," he explained.
He said: "If you buy and drink Ice Dew Chun Yue water,
you are bringing clean water to people and kids in remote villages in China …
if you buy a bottle of water, we are doing something on your behalf. It fits
the behaviour of the Chinese millennials."
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