Like much of the work at The Coca-Cola Company, ours is a scale operation. My team, Global Digital Communications and Social Media, reports to Coca-Cola’s Public Affairs and Communications function (PAC). We are a lean group of nine based out of company center headquarters in Atlanta, supporting the editorial, social media and technology capabilities of in-market teams locally [see chart below].
Market teams not only include multiple communications professionals “dual-hatting”—writing a story rather than a press release—but also a growing group of editors, freelancers and, increasingly, graphic designers and videographers.
Rather than ask our friends in the fourth estate to write stories about us, we simply write them ourselves (more on this later), always guided by, always learning from, always finding new ways to engage our readers and followers. That last bit is key: Our driving mantra with the stories we write is to engage our readers, to excite, to delight and even occasionally to challenge. Our preeminent benchmark for success, therefore, is not the number of eyeballs, clicks or impressions, but shares. A story spread via social is a story read, and readers share if they care.
Journey: A New Way to Tell Stories
At the ripe age of 125+ years young, the Coca-Cola Company decided traditional communication paths were no longer the most effective way to tell and distribute our best stories. The press release, while still expected and powerful in certain instances—earnings announcements, for example—is connecting with an ever-smaller audience. With the speed of communication driving faster to keep up with the speed of connection, we decided to transform our corporate destination, www.coca-colacompany.com, into an online magazine that delivered at the speed of our consumers’ (and critics’) digital lives. With that, Coca-Cola Journey was launched.
Since its premiere in November 2012, Journey has grown into an international network of sites, serving 48 countries via 35 in-market teams. None of that momentum would have been possible, however, without our readers. They are our collective North Star, informing our editorial teams (all of whom sit within or report to our communications function) what stories need telling. These stories help drive understanding of the company forward and are simply moments of delight worth sharing on social.
People-Centric Stories
If “shareworthy” is the watchword of our storytelling, its content mission is to make a difference for the business. That is a balancing act, but one we increasingly refine thanks to reader feedback via social media shares, surveys and comments. Our editorial calendars globally center on the company’s passion points: brands, the business, culture, food, history, innovation, sports, sustainability and more. These stories always begin and end with people at their heart. Perhaps not surprisingly, the best way to humanize a global company is via human perspective.
If shares equal engagement in our world, earned media adoption marks our success as an owned media outlet, albeit one that is brand-focused. Journey is blessed insofar as we are storytellers who don’t face the same challenges as our peers in traditional and digital publishing. For example, we have the luxury of not having to worry about advertising revenue.
Measurement by Media Acceptance
By that token, we were honored when some two dozen global publications linked to, quoted or pulled directly from our package of content celebrating the May 2015 series finale of AMC’s Mad Men, which featured in its final moments our seminal 1971 TV ad Hilltop. (You may recall it as home of the “I’d like to buy the world a Coke” anthem.)
More recently, last December, we were similarly thrilled when more than a few leading national and finance publications republished several stories from our package announcing the May 2017 ascension of James Quincey as our next CEO.
Last, whenever possible, we endeavor to track Journey content and social effectiveness along the same metrics as the rest of the business. Corporate reputation being an obvious benchmark for all of the company’s connections with consumers, reader surveys conducted over several of our sites around the world, including the center site, coca-colacompany.com, indicate Journey stories have a positive impact on understanding of the company and its priorities. This data provides compelling insights for new stories that we hope only grow this momentum.
Through the synthesis of a people-centric focus and stories that make a difference for the business, we work every day to produce stories that expand our reader base, but also challenge, delight and inform it. As social spreads stories on brands daily, Journey represents our collective best foot forward to jump into the conversation—not to own, dominate or embellish, but simply to take part in the global digital dialogue with a voice that is uniquely Coca-Cola.
CONTACT: @dbusk @cocacolaco