The pitch was opened up to Coca-Cola’s interactive agency in the US along with others all over the world (US, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, etc.). I believe we won due to our strategic positioning, strong understanding of the local market and creativity. Apparently our proposal was one of the more costly, so price didn’t appear to be the key decision influencer. I know many agencies will try to undercut just for the privilege of getting the world’s number one brand on their roster.

The promotion in question was called ‘The Festive Card’ and was created as the second round to ‘The Coke Card’ - Coca-Cola’s most successful to date. The Festive Card extended across four holidays - Christmas, New Years, Chinese New Years and the Malay Hari Raya. The site we created was tied very closely to the traditional advertising look and feel although we had pretty much no support from McCann-Erickson, the ATL agency. Nothing new in the competive world of advertising, I suppose.

We had to illustrate all of the elements ourselves with whatever guidelines we could find from Atlanta. McCann was unable to provide anything which resulted in elements such as the Coke Polar Bear looking slightly different across all media (the 3D artists for the television commercials were in the same boat). Hopefully lessons will have been learned all around from this lack of synergy.

Regardless, we did as good a job as we could given the circumstances so that the casual user would see the same treatment throughout. As everything I do has the end-user as king, I made sure the site had features that would be extremely appealing to the target audience. Of course there was a great deal of informative content on the promotion itself: what it was, how to get the cards, how to use them, benefits, feedback, etc. - but as this was Coca-Cola’s first direct, one-to-one communication with the consumer in Asia, I wanted to make sure the user got the impression that Coke understood their needs very well.

In that vein, we designed and executed a series of games with the theme of ‘refreshing’ very clear to tie into Coca-Cola’s main brand positioning. One of them, Polar Ice Fishing, actually ends in the island of Singapore. I wanted to be sure we kept localization in mind. That also led to the development of an interactive Flash contest, The Writers Blok, that was sensitive of how young Singaporean Web users do not like to have to write a lot when trying to win a prize (there is a law in Singapore that states contests can not be left to chance - there must be an element of skill or creativity so it is not considered gambling). This system allowed them to use visuals mixed with a little text to create unique stories that could be judged. We also allowed users to send very personalized, custom-made e-greeting cards.

To ensure we developed a targeted promotional database for future mining and to help with repeat usage and word-of-mouth marketing, we made sure to have dynamic high-score lists for the games and to promote the winners of the contests on the site. All of this resulted in an average of 21 minutes per user with the brand sitting in front of them. The industry average for Web site use is approximately five minutes. Relative to that, this first Coca-Cola site proved to be a remarkable success. If only the traditional agency had supported it more (compelling call-to-action lines on the ads, featuring benefits, BTL material, etc.) I’m sure the brand would have benefited immensely. At least we got the URL on the cans!

Below follows the press release issued by Coca-Cola Far East upon the launch of the site:

XM Launches First Coca-Cola Web Site in Asia

For the very first time in Singapore, a local Coca-Cola Web site will be launched. Check out this activity-packed site and win great prizes, play fun games, write a story of your own, find out more about the fabulous deals and offers Coca-Cola and its partners have in store for you.

This Coca-Cola Web site will be the first ever for Coca-Cola in Singapore. This site has been specially geared towards the festive season, and in particular, the festive season as celebrated by Singaporeans.

Just click onto the Coca-Cola site at http://coca-cola.com.sg, and one can enjoy visuals of the renowned Polar Bear icon moving in a game, from the Arctic wilds towards a familiar housing estate scene, complete with Merlion and MRT!

“We have designed a Coca-Cola Web site that reflects a global philosophy of bringing even more fun to good times, yet is a uniquely Singaporean experience,” said Ms. Alison Worthington, Country Marketing Director, Coca-Cola Far East Limited.

“This is a site that will allow people, especially teens and youths, to have some good healthy fun, and maybe even take something extra home! There is also a feedback section, where teens can air their views. We are constantly evolving the site to better meet the needs of our consumers.”

Josh Sklar is CEO and Executive Creative Director of Expanded Media Asia, who worked with Coca-Cola to design the site. Mr. Sklar said, “There was close collaboration with Coca-Cola to ensure that the site’s offerings represented the spirit of the Festive Card promotion.”

“Since this is the first Coca-Cola Web site in Asia, it was our mission to demonstrate to consumers how an international brand could be sensitive to the issues of a country such as Singapore. Everything, from the Ice-Fishing arcade game to the dynamic Writer’s Blok contest, was tailored with the Singaporean user in mind - giving the world class content one would expect from Coca-Cola in a local context.”