Recently, Coca-Cola announced it would be updating its brand identity, with online and offline adverts showcasing new images and text for each of its products. So how will the new approach work for the company, and will the brand continue to resonate with consumers?

The premise behind Coca-Cola’s “One brand” strategy is that the company will unify all its products under a single identity, rather than having each with a different look and feel. The move comes after Coca-Cola’s consumer research showed that customers didn’t fully understand the range of Coke products available and the attributes of each drink. The new branding, Coca-Cola says, will strongly highlight four products under one brand identity, comprising Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero, and Coca-Cola Life, the company’s latest product that contains more natural sugar alternatives. Each drink’s unique colour will be highlighted more strongly across all advertising platforms, as will the different components that make up each. On the bottle labels themselves for instance, each drink will clearly include textual overlay, with “No Calories” written on the Diet Coke bottle for example, while the original will show “Since 1886”, in an attempt to show clearer branding. After testing colour coding on UK consumers, Coca-Cola has also decided to continue to display this on each product, with the original displaying sugar content in red, and fat, saturates, and salt in green, while Coke Zero and Diet coke will have green colour coding for all categories.

The first TV ad under Coca-Cola’s new concept has already been released, created by Ogilvy Amsterdam. Entitled, “What Are You Waiting For”, the ad ran on TV and in cinemas throughout May, while the online version will be available to view throughout the Summer. The idea falls in line with Coca-Cola’s “Open Happiness” theme, yet this time persuades viewers to choose their own happiness, displaying the hash tag, #choosehappiness in the final frame. In fact, “Choose Happiness” will now become the default tag line, replacing the “Open Happiness” slogan consumers have become familiar with. In the ad, viewers can see that each of the brand’s four drinks is visible at varying points, conveying Coca-Cola’s desire for a united range of products.

We think removing the distinct marketing and branding from each separate product is in many ways a great idea, ensuring Coca-Cola’s singular brand message isn’t lost amidst its product range. As part of the plan too, Coca-Cola will aim to gradually remove and stop producing individual Coke Zero and Diet Coke campaigns, while marketing spend will actually be doubled for these drinks, ensuring viewers will be made aware of all four products in equal measure. Out of home campaigns will do the same, and if Coca-Cola chooses to draw attention to one of its products (as the ad below demonstrates), the idea will be to still feature all products for context. In addition, we imagine that having each drink present in all adverts will offer a point of comparison, removing any existing confusion. The brand reinvigoration has been rolled out since May, with 12 European countries, including the UK, receiving these changes.

What do you think of Coca-Cola’s new branding and strategy? Do you think that unifying its products is a good concept? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.