Coca Cola launched what could be described as one of the biggest social media and online PR campaigns yet, with it’s Expedition 206 project. The company is to send a team of three people around the World, through 206 countries, over the course of a year, with one mission: to find out what makes people happy.

Throughout the journey, these “Happiness Ambassadors”, chosen by online voters from all over the World, will take photos, make videos, conduct interviews and send out updates via Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Youtube and other social networking sites.

Along the way, the trio will visit events like the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the World Expo in Shanghai, giving real-time feedback as they go. Suggestions of places to visit or stay at each location, the places where they dine and shop, and the activities they get up to, will all come from replies and comments made by the public online.

In the build-up to the launch of the campaign, Coca Cola’s Group Director of Digital Communications, Adam Brown, in an interview posted at www.socialmedia.org, stated, “The first mantra we came to live by at Coke was to fish where the fish are. We realize the importance of putting content in the places where our fans already are. The second idea is keeping fans first. Online, our brands are really what our fans say they are. When we participate on Facebook and Twitter, we’re in many ways invited guests.”

He also stated, about Expedition 206, that, “It’s like a reality TV show, without the TV”

Perhaps unusually, the idea for Expedition 206 did not come from a digital agency or marketing department, but from Coca Cola’s senior vice president of Global Public Affairs And Communications, Clyde Tuggle, indicating how seriously big companies are taking social media and online PR.

The expedition itself will begin in January next year, starting from Madrid, Spain and will end in December at Coca Cola’s birthplace in Atlanta, USA.

Coca Cola’s Facebook fan page has almost 4 million fans proving it has already become more than just a soft drink brand. There are also discussions about it’s famous “holidays are coming” Christmas TV ad, which has had over a million views on Youtube.

Gary Collins, CEO of Status Media, a specialist digital agency, based in the UK commented, “It’s no surprise with the growth of social media that big brands such as Coca Cola are investing in global strategies to engage with their audience. We’ll be boosting our online PR and social media strategies for brands in 2010″.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites