A One Shining Moment Coke can? Gotta admit that’s pretty cool!
Here is a snippet of the story from Coca-Cola:
For years, Coke has produced commemorative cans for the winning team’s hometown markets, but Villanova Wildcats fans experienced the latest in the company’s innovative efforts to connect with consumers in real time. On Monday night, after Villanova won the championship on a buzzer-beating 3-point shot and fans filed out of the stands, they were handed limited-edition Villanova Championship Coca-Cola cans.
The cans were created to not only commemorate the win and honor Villanova University in real time, but also to complement the new Share a Coke and a Song campaign. The cans featured the Wildcats’ logo and the lyric “One Shining Moment” from the song featured each year in a highlight reel at the conclusion of the championship broadcast. It was a must-have souvenir for Villanova fans that seemingly appeared out of thin air.
But the creation and delivery of the can didn’t happen overnight. It was result of months of planning and coordination with Coke’s partner colleges and universities, the NCAA® and the Houston-area Coca-Cola Refreshments (CCR) bottling plant.
“Everybody wants information in real time,” says Kasia Horner, who handles NCAA sports marketing for Coke. “It’s one thing for media and creative content to react to the outcome of a game and be produced and distributed in real time. It’s another thing for a consumer goods company to react, produce and distribute their product in real time. And that’s exactly what we did at the Final Four.”
The real-time commemorative can program started as a test during last year’s NCAA Men’s Final Four in Indianapolis, and the team brought it back for this year’s finale.
“These are the innovations that we want to look to as we find new and different ways to inspire and engage our customers,” said Louis Ross, senior packaging graphics manager, Coca-Cola North America.
Head over to Coca-Cola’s website to read the full article.
