Midterm: Social Media Case Study

Brief Company History
Coca-Cola was first introduced to the market in 1886 and has since been the leader, manufacturer, distributor and marketer within the carbonated soft drink and syrup industry ever since. The worlds leading soft drink was developed by John Pemberton, originally designed to work simply as a carbonated machine. Later, the formula Pemberton created was sold in a pharmacy for a mere five cents a bottle and became a town phenomenon.
Coca-Cola’s mission is to, “Strive to refresh the world, inspire moments of optimism and happiness, create value and make a difference.” Today, consumers still can “Open Happiness” from the bottle, which features the minimally alternated Coca-Cola logo designed by Frank Robinson back in the late 1800’s. Coca-Cola hasn’t strayed far from its original mission, vision and brand image, which has certainly contributed to the strong consumer loyalty they continue to maintain.

Strategy and Objectives
Coca-Cola strives to maintain their competitive edge over their main competition, Pepsi. Though there have been numerous market shifts, which may have perhaps altered their strategy, Coke is persistent to uphold their top status. Today, consumer loyalty is the utmost important asset to a company, which is why Coca-Cola initiated the campaign strategy called Expedition 206. Within the modern world of social media there comes discussion, criticism, brand interaction and most importantly to a brand, they can become spokespeople—brand ambassadors and advocates.
In early 2010, Coca-Cola carefully selected their three brand ambassadors to help satisfy their two main objectives, which were to: * Create compelling online content that would increase engagement with the worldwide audience of teens and young adults (Anonymous, 2010). * Secure positive worldwide media coverage for the program