• by Erik Oster , February 15, 2024

Coca-Cola highlighted the importance of its marketing shift to digital, and the introduction of its StudioX digital ecosystem last year, while reporting on its Q4 and 2023 earnings. The company reported  7% net revenue growth for Q4, and 6% for the year in full.

“To recruit the next generation of drinkers, our marketing has shifted from a TV-centric model to a digital-first organization that balances local intimacy, scale, and flexibility,” CEO James Quincey said in an earnings call, noting the shift in the company’s marketing mix from less than 30% digital-focused in 2019 to around 60% of its media spend currently.

With last year’s launch of digital ecosystem StudioX, “Creative, media, social, and production capabilities are now operating at scale connected by our global network structure,” he added.

“In our previous model, it took several months to create a TV ad. Now, we're producing thousands of pieces of digital content that are contextually relevant and measuring these results in real time.”

According to Quincey, the studio’s output has led to tangible results. He cited Coke Studio, the music-centric experience platform launched in Pakistan that expanded across Coca-Cola’s top 40 markets

“The campaign uses packaging as digital portals to access real magic experiences, which has generated more than 1.2 billion YouTube views and 100 million music streams this year, resulting in strong recruitment of Gen Z drinkers,” he explained.

Quincey also cited Kantar data showing Coca-Cola’s brand value increased $8 billion, making it the tenth most valuable brand globally; as well as the company being named in Fast Company’s list of most innovative companies, and Morning Consult declaring Sprite the top beverage brand for Gen Z.

In a press release accompanying Coca-Cola’s Q4 and Full-Year 2023 earnings report, the company highlighted its “The World Needs More Santas” holiday campaign, which ran across 80 markets, characterizing the effort as “continuing the company’s rich history of celebrating the holidays,” while celebrating the success of its first AI-based platform, “Create Real Magic” in driving consumers to create digital greeting cards featuring Coca-Cola brand assets.

“In total, the holiday campaign experiences garnered approximately 9 billion impressions on social media,” Coca-Cola said in the release. “By combining the company’s global scale with local relevancy, the holiday activation contributed to … volume and value share gains as well as unit case volume and transactions growth for both the quarter and for the full year.”

Asked about the recent launch of Coca-Cola Spice as a permanent addition to its flavor roster, Quincey characterized the approach as part of an overall strategy the company has deployed for years to “reengage consumers with the Coke trademark.”

He noted that while the soda category may have struggled recently in the U.S., it was growing globally, adding, “if we do the right things for our brands, we will be able to drive the category forward and benefit disproportionately from that growth.”