vanilla coke campaign
... Vanilla Coke, Coke with a vanilla twist, was Coca Cola’s most recent attempt at trying to get more business from the younger generation. The company had not created a twist on the original Coke since 1985, when it came out with Cherry Coke. Vanilla Coke was launched May 8, 2002, and according to Beverage Digest, it was the top selling 20-ounce soft drink in convenience stores for months to follow, selling over 90 million cases. Thanks to a successful public relations campaign run by a team at Weber Shandwick Worldwide and public relations professionals at Coca Cola, the brand was a success. Before the launch of Vanilla Coke, Coca Cola had a significant predicament that could have caused a lot of problems if it had not been handled correctly. ... Reporters were all trying to get a better story on Vanilla Coke. ... Before creating a campaign for the new brand, Coca Cola had to think about how its different publics would react to its Vanilla Coke campaign. ... But the older generation of Americans, people who grew up with Coca Cola and were loyal to the brand, also had to be satisfied with Vanilla Coke. ... Susan McDermott, a Coca Cola spokeswoman, said in a press release that although it was important to please the older crowd, the core target audience for Vanilla Coke was people 18 to 29 yeas old. Even so, Coca Cola created a campaign to appeal to young and old. The Vanilla Coke campaign ran for six weeks and included television and radio spots as well as outdoor and Internet advertising. ... They were Coke’s “fountain heritage,” and Vanilla Coke’s “unexpected personality.” These themes appealed to the older generation who remembered the soda jerks who used to put vanilla syrup into cola in the 1950’s and 1960’s. ... To find a location an internet search was done, and the Vanilla Bean Café, a “mom and pop” café in Pomfret, Conn. ... There was a crowd of about 500 people watching as the first Vanilla Coke delivery was made. By using a small town to unveil a huge event, Vanilla Coke drew an abundance of media. ... As the launch was taking place at the Vanilla Bean Café, the audience at each studio, and at the event, was shown enjoying the same drink. After the delivery was made and the media quieted down, the employees of the café were taken on a Vanilla Coke bus into Manhattan for a launch party at Pressure, a popular billiards bar at NYU.