The Importance of Brand Agendas in Consumer Storytelling

Many of marketing's mover and shakers are gathered in New York this week as Advertising Week kicks into full swing. Microsoft's Mel Carson caught up with Jonathan Mildenhall, VP, Global Advertising Strategy & Content Excellence for The Coca-Cola Company to talk about how the beverage giant is linking consumer interests, brand agendas and business goals through its experiential marketing efforts. The good part starts at about 2:00 in the below video.

While social media and sponsorship offer an amazing opportunity to facilitate consumer storytelling, Mildenhall emphasizes that it's important to create and tie them back to universal platforms that consumers can relate to. Examples he draws on at Coca-Cola..

Coke = Happiness

Fanta = Play

Powerade = Potential

Applied to sponsorship, sellers need to remember that the best propositions combine not only current business goals (expand reach to a particular demographic, drive trials, etc.), but also overarching brand themes (happiness, play, potential, etc.) to advance the interests and experience of the intended audience. Mildenhall sums it up by pointing to the idea of "frictionless brand engagement."