• PROMO Magazine, Tuesday, August 1, 2006 1 PM

Beverage marketer Coca-Cola Co. is the latest major advertiser to embrace user-generated content. It has re-launched its own Web site as part of an effort to encourage consumers to create material supporting its brand. The site, CocaCola.com, invites users to participate in a contest to create material, and provides them with the tools to carry out the challenge. Participants are given a specific theme, and the winners are rewarded. First prize includes a computer, digital camera, and editing software valued at approximately $5,000. Users are also able to have their entries judged by a global community. "Throughout Coke's history, we have seen people use the brand, its icons and heritage as a creative source," says Coke spokesman Marc Mathieu. "In the '60s, it was Andy Warhol. Today, it's people all over the world on the Internet developing their own interpretations of the brand." He says the independent creative process is a vital part of Coke's heritage.

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