Coca-Cola has long capitalized on its iconic sound cues in advertising but sought to innovate further by integrating these sounds into modern digital and physical experiences.

Our brief was to use Coca-Cola's recognizable auditory elements to enhance brand engagement and ensure its relevance in a constantly evolving digital landscape.

Objectives

- Create new ways for consumers to experience Coca-Cola through sound.

- Integrate Coca-Cola’s sonic branding across various digital platforms and physical touchpoints, reaching a broader audience.

- Have scalability as a pillar, as Coca-Cola is in several markets.

- Foster creative expression, offering interactive tools for people to expand the sounds of Coca through audio platforms.

Coke SoundZ is an AI-powered instrument that infuses Coke's sonic branding into music, letting the world spread the sounds from the bottle into pop culture.

With sounds in crisp isolation, users can experience the familiar sensory thrill of opening and pouring a Coke.

It also allows these sounds to be freely mixed and manipulated with built-in AI that analyzes the waveform of the mix and generates musical tones based on Coke's unique sonic texture.

So, having more "phsst" in your mix generates a more percussive sound. More "fizz" leads to more release, and "clink" generates sounds with more modulation, for example.

Users can explore additional advanced settings, like key changes, filters, tone settings, reverb, and more.

The physical instrument was shared with global artists and music influencers, and a free app was made available on the AppStore and Google Play, allowing the world to create an endless array of songs.

Coke SoundZ strategically targets a young, tech-savvy demographic known for valuing immersive and interactive brand experiences.

Coca-Cola capitalized on its iconic sonic branding (Phsst, Clink, Glug, Ahh) to serve as a musical foundation for this initiative.

By converting these well-known auditory cues into instruments on the Coke SoundZ, each sound acts as a musical reminder of the brand, thereby reinforcing Coca-Cola's presence in the user's mind every time they engage with the tool.

The availability of Coke SoundZ as both a physical device and a mobile app ensures it reaches a broad audience, enhancing accessibility and encouraging creative expression.

This dual presence fosters individual creativity and promotes social sharing, user engagement and community interaction, strengthening the connection between Coca-Cola and its global consumer base.

The more people create music using Coke SoundZ, the more the brand spreads into pop culture—as if melodies started to become a media for Coca-Cola.

The development and launch of Coke SoundZ spanned over a year, starting from concept development to the final product launch. This timeline included phases for sound recording, AI programming, user interface design, pilot testing, and final adjustments based on user feedback, ensuring that every aspect was polished and aligned with the brand's high standards.

The project commenced with the detailed digital capturing of Coca-Cola's iconic sounds using the latest technology on microphone and audio equipment. An AI, developed with inputs from neuroscience, was then programmed to allow these sounds to be manipulated into musical outputs. This AI interprets user interactions to create personalized soundscapes, ensuring the sounds not only remain true to the brand's identity but also engage users on a sensory level.

Coca-Cola's aesthetic guided the design of both the Coke SoundZ app and the physical device. The app features a clean, user-friendly interface that mimics the brand's color scheme, enhancing visual appeal and user engagement. The physical device is styled to resemble the iconic Coke bottle, made from premium materials like brushed aluminum to convey quality and durability.

It was integrated into Coca-Cola's existing digital ecosystems, such as Coke Studio, and promoted through social media channels, digital ads, and collaboration with music influencers.

Since December/2023, it has been used in creating soundtracks for major campaigns such as Ramadan and Coke Zero 2024, and continues to be embedded in other brand productions, activations, retail events, and social content.

Coke SoundZ was strategically launched across multiple platforms to maximize reach and usability. We produced a video featuring the instrument and a song created by a Grammy-nominated producer and a 3D representation of the instrument.

In March/2024, the project involved collaborations with global artists like DJ Marshmello and influencers, enhancing its reach and presence in pop culture.

+1.3 Billion have already experienced Coke SoundZ. And counting.

It has been adopted by the Coca-Cola brand ecosystem since December/2023, elevating the sound experience across multiple touchpoints — such as social content, influencers, music platforms, retail, events, or even films for global campaigns like "Ramadan is Coming", and "Coke Zero Sugar: Best Coke Ever".

In the Coke Zero Sugar campaign, Coke SoundZ collaborated with the NSync hit "It's gonna be me".

It's now the official Coke Studio instrument, part of music singles and entertainment soundtracks.

For the general public, Coke SoundZ was officially launched by DJ Marshmello (61M monthly listeners on Spotify). Several influencers promoted the project on social media.

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2.3M likes

32k comments

"You’ve never seen or heard a Coke bottle like this"

Tech Radar

"Converting taste into a musical experience."

Musicbiz

"Perfect combination of science and melody "

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