Our goal was to grow Coca-Cola volume and market share in China by increasing the number of regular (weekly+) drinkers. To do this, Coca-Cola needed to reconnect with youth in China. The single-child-policy generation lives with intense family and societal pressure, and feels isolated without siblings. They have trouble with self-expression in real life, and keep most of their interaction online.

For teens in China emoticons are a huge part of their everyday lexicon, but sometimes a ?, or an LOL is just not enough to express how they really feel. So, we invented a tool for Coca-Cola that brings the emotional power of music into digital conversations. We call it the Musicon™.

Popular Chinese song lyrics were printed on all Coca-Cola bottles and cans in China. When you scan the label with your phone you receive the corresponding Musicon™. This specifically edited music clip with its custom animation can then be shared in any digital conversation – telegraphing your feelings through pop music clips.

The Musicon™ user experience was optimized for the We Chat mobile social network in China, but was also supported online and in social, and was featured across all media and at on-ground activations.

China loved Musicons™. The campaign generated over 3 billion impressions in social media, making it a top 3 trending topic on Sina Weibo in the summer of 2014. The increased social visibility of Coca-Cola across the summer of 2014 helped to add 24 million new, regular (weekly+) drinkers of Coca-Cola. This increased consumption led to a 6% increase in volumes sales.

2014 was one of the wettest summers on record in China, so while total category volume only grew by 1.5%. Coca-Cola increased market share, outperforming the category by a factor of 4.