Chapter 16: Integrated Marketing Communications

    Countless numbers of companies have now explored the world of Social Networks. Whether it may be Facebook, Twitter or Google+, companies now see the importance of communicating with their customers and the younger generations. The Coca-Cola Company is no different. With over 54 million subscribers on Facebook, 2 million on Twitter, and 600,000 on Google+; the Coca-Cola Company continue their growth through online social media that have been developed to help empower their associates to participate in the new frontier of marketing and communications, represent the Company, and share the optimistic and positive spirits of the Coca-Cola brands. 

The vision of the Company to achieve growth online and offline is guided by certain shared values that the Coca-Cola Company live by as an organization and as individuals:

• LEADERSHIP : The courage to shape a better future
• COLLABORATION : Leveraging their collective genius
• INTEGRITY : Being real
• ACCOUNTABILITY : Recognizing that if it is to be, it's up to me
• PASSION : Showing commitment in heart and mind
• DIVERSITY : Being as inclusive as their brands
• QUALITY : Ensuring what they do, they do well.

  

That's Wendy Clark, she's the senior vice president of Integrated Marketing Communications and Capabilities of the Coca-Cola Company. Her role is to look over global design, marketing communications, media, sponsorships, interactive marketing and marketing of the Companies "Live Positively" platform. Since joining in 2008, Clark has done a lot already for the Company but probably her most known achievement of her and her team was the launch of the "Open Happiness" campaign, which now deployed in markets representing 100% of Coca-Cola's volume.The main idea of that campaign was to encourage people to stop every once in a while and refresh themselves with a Coca-Cola beverage. That way they'd be able to enjoy and share the happiness that it brings them. Wendy Clark and her team carry a "Fan-first" mentality that helps them come to more of an understand of digital media and it's importance in marketing now.

Coca-Cola run's many promotions year-in and year-out. They give away tickets, they run sweepstakes and even fly people across the world. Their forms of promotion includes Television, Radio, Bottle designs, news papers, magazines, bus stops, bill boards and everything else you can think of. During the holidays, its almost impossible to not see some sort of promotion by one of the worlds most recognized companies, Coca-Cola.