Coke is a global giant, yet in KSA it suffers with lower consideration and market share than Pepsi. While the basics of marketing such as price, distribution and product are all taken care of, the brand struggles to be loved and appreciated as much as the competition.

With that in mind, Coke wanted to find a way to break through the “blue wall” while getting closer to consumers in the Kingdom. The goal was finding a point-of-differentiation that could trigger brand closeness, naturally leading to sales.

To succeed. Coke would have to truly understand how shoppers behave not only when they shop for drinks, but also when no shelves are in sight and yet the cravings appear.

The challenge laid in devising an experience that could help Coke infiltrate culture and merge buying and consumption behaviors, ultimately making consumers crave a coke when they would usually choose Pepsi.

"I See Coke"

A built-in Alexa skill that puts Coca-Cola on viewers’ lips every time it pops up on screen, turning over 100 years of product placement in movies and TV shows into an interactive shoppable experience.

1. Just spot Coke on any movie or TV show

2. Say "ALEXA, I SEE COKE"

3. Alexa will reply: "WHERE DO YOU SEE IT?"

4. Say the name of the movie

5. Alexa will have a cheeky reply related to the movie and send a promo code to your registered email to purchase any Coca-Cola product with a 50% discount through e-retailer (Nana)

Rather than shoving more ads down people's throats, Coke decided to reward them while watching the content they already loved.

The challenge for Coke was to carve a space in the hearts of Pepsi-loving Saudis while turning them into Coke shoppers.

Knowing that it’s easier for consumers to crave a brand when they’re in love with it, Coke had a simple yet beautiful solution on how to activate and captivate Saudis.

Whilst Pepsi owned the ad-breaks, Coke saw an opportunity to take advantage of Saudi's average of 3h35m watching video content to turn their beloved daily activity into a conversion experience driven by the increasingly popular “Alexa”.

The partnership with Alexa turned every home with the device into an interactive activation with a shelf for consumers to buy Coke almost impulsively, removing the barrier of the “Blue Pepsi wall” from their eyes.

Once the connection happened, technology turned something meaningful into a relevant disruption, leading to a seamless and convenient commerce experience, while creating a new shopping ritual.

The longstanding history between Pepsi and Saudi meant that the brand is not only strongly ingrained within the shopper-sphere, but also in our consumers everyday habits and cultural DNA. But as Saudi increasingly embraces both digital lifestyles and global pop culture, Coke saw an opportunity to leverage its equity as a “cultural icon” to establish a connection with modern Saudi shoppers.

Whilst in the past, there was little common ground between Saudis and Coke, today it has become progressively evident that both possess a shared passion in TV shows, film and (digital) media.

Despite Pepsi’s dominance on Saudi shelves, there was one place where Coke remained king – entertainment. For over a century, Coke has continued to stablish itself as a key cultural icon in the world’s most popular Movies, TV shows and events culminating in thousands of product placements across countless IPs around the world.

As a result, whilst Pepsi continues to be Saudi’s favorite drink, Coke is the brand that remains most prominent in their favorite movies, shows as well as in the hands of their favorite characters during their “screen time”.

Rather than directly challenging Pepsi through traditional marketing approaches, Coke sought to convert Saudi’s love for their favorite movies, shows and characters into a shopper opportunity.

Considering Saudi audience’s growing adoption of smart-home technology such as Amazon’s Alexa, Coke saw the potential to convert their at-home screen-time into a potential occasion to purchase the brand. Through a seamless experience that blends content, brand and technology Coke sought to turn every Saudi home/TV into a “red” shelf.

The challenge for Coke was to carve a space in the hearts of Pepsi-loving Saudis while turning them into Coke shoppers.

Knowing that it’s easier for consumers to crave a brand when they’re in love with it, Coke had a simple yet beautiful solution on how to activate and captivate Saudis.

Whilst Pepsi owned the ad-breaks, Coke saw an opportunity to take advantage of Saudi's average of 3h35m watching video content to turn their beloved daily activity into a conversion experience driven by the increasingly popular “Alexa”.

The partnership with Alexa turned every home with the device into an interactive activation with a shelf for consumers to buy Coke almost impulsively, removing the barrier of the “Blue Pepsi wall” from their eyes.

Once the connection happened, technology turned something meaningful into a relevant disruption, leading to a seamless and convenient commerce experience, while creating a new shopping ritual.

To bring the "I See Coke" experience to life, we catalogued thousands of hours of content. Using machine learning, we identified hundreds of Coca-Cola placements and created customized replies for every single appearance.

We then launched nationwide and automatically added the skill to Alexa Devices in Arabic and English. Without any download or activation required.

Social content and Iconic "Movie Hints" were created to drive more engagement and get followers to guess the movie based on the illustrations of specific scenes.

And because Coke is as unforgettable in the movies as it is in real life, (Like Eleven crushing that Coke Can on “Stranger Things” or Kevin McAllister having pizza and a Coke in a limo in “Home Alone 2”) we enabled people to engage with “I see Coke” and enjoy Coke offers even without spotting them live. The more product on people’s lips, the better.

Pepsi might have arrived first to the Saudi Arabia Market and be first on marketing media spend, but by capitalizing on 100+ years of big screen placements, Coke was first:

FIRST to innovate and convert existing product placement into direct sales

A successful commerce unlock, with a record high 96% offer redemption, when average trial and coupon redemption in the region hardly ever surpass 30%

FIRST on the lips (literally)

Coca-Cola became the most voice-mentioned FMCG brand to Alexa and “I See Coke” became the 3rd most engaged skill overall on Amazon.

FIRST on Awareness

By the first week of the activation, Coca-Cola (Coke) had increased social mentions by 237% vs the rest of Q1 2023, and it surpassed organic social engagement and sentiment of Pepsi in the region.

FIRST on Reach

“I see Coke” content reached 2.9 MM people, 33% above benchmark, with View Through Rate doubling figures.