MARYLOU ANDREW: How does ‘Hur dum Pakistani’ fit in with your last two campaigns?

MOIZ SYED: It’s almost a continuation of what we have been doing for the last so many years. One of Coca-Cola’s strategic pillars is cultural leadership and we try and build on it every year. Cultural leadership for us means that if Coca-Cola wants to be an iconic brand, then it has to be about more than just emotional advertising. It has to have a deeper impact on how people understand themselves and society in general, and that is how we have been able to build brand love. The ‘Ho yaqeen’ campaign (2012) was part of it; it was about making people realise that there is an alternative way of looking at things, so while you might see a lot of negativity around you, if you look closely you will also find plenty of sources of happiness. ‘Crazy for good’ (2013) was about reaffirming people’s belief in themselves and their power to make an impact by doing something as basic as a simple act of kindness. This new campaign is all about realising what Pakistan has been going through for the past several years and to say that even if things are going wrong, there is still something which keeps us going and this is our resilience. This resilience is manifest in the small things we do every day, whether it is enjoying a good meal or a birthday party. If we can find resilience to enjoy these small moments, why can’t we find some to make a difference in the moments when it is really needed?

MLA: How did you go beyond mere emotional advertising in this campaign?

MS: It’s all about generating the right conversations and getting people to talk. One of the ways we do this is by focusing on our message rather than on branding because in this campaign our message is more important than brand visibility. This helps make people realise that there is a serious message. The hashtag this time is #HurDumPakistani and we are trying our best to get people to start talking about it because this is when we establish a deeper connection with them versus something which only has a feel-good factor.

MLA: What sorts of activities are you doing to generate those conversations?

MS: There are plenty of activities; we have gone through various interviews with people from different backgrounds across Pakistan. We have shared their take on resilience with other Pakistanis through digital media; the research we did is also showcased in our TVC. We have gone to different schools with leaders from Coca-Cola and outside so that they can be inspirational to young kids by talking about their own challenges and journey. All these activities have created an environment which is conducive to people listening to our message.

MLA: Tell me about the digital leg of the conversations.

MS: Someone has to start digital conversations and you have to find the right people to do this. It is important that our message is understood by these digital influencers and bloggers. What we always try to do is approach them and talk about our beliefs and activities. Usually they understand where we are coming from and then they give their own point of view and the domino effect takes place.

MLA: Digital influencers are obviously important for this campaign, but are brands aware of how to effectively engage bloggers?

MS: The key difference between how we were marketing before and how we do it now is that we do not rely solely on traditional mediums. Previously, we went on TV, print, radio and outdoor and that was the campaign. Now if brands are to survive they have to make sure that they have an impact on the entire ecosystem and the bloggers and influencers are a key part of this because if they don’t understand our point of view, they might say something about the brand which is untrue and so many other people will be influenced by that message. Once you have identified the influencers, the next step is to engage them and this is where brands go wrong. They take a very commercial approach and almost try to shape the opinions of the influencers; more often than not we try not to push them in any direction. We just present our case and almost leave them to themselves so that they can present their point of view. In doing so, three out of 10 people may say that this is just another corporate attempt at selling but the rest may see the bigger picture.

MLA: And is this ‘just another corporate attempt at selling’?

MS: For us it is really important that people continue to love brand Coke. How do we make them do this? Not just by communicating with them at a superficial level, but connecting with them at a deeper level. And when you want to make that deeper connection campaigns like this will happen. There is a commercial intent behind it because we want people to love our brand but beyond that we believe that the intent behind the message is absolutely pure.

MLA: Is there a greater need to build brand love for Coca-Cola at a time when carbonated soft drinks are getting a bad rap?

MS: Brand Coke has been around for 128 years and the only reason it has survived so long is because people love it. So the need has always been there and we will never say there isn’t a need. But with access to information people are becoming more aware; they are getting information which might be credible or it may not be true at all. In an environment where they make decisions based on such information, it is important to establish ourselves as a credible and trustworthy brand and you can only do this by building brand love. So if people hear something and you tell them, ‘look that’s not true’ they will at least trust you.

MLA: Does this campaign connect with your commercial campaigns?

MS: Overall, all campaigns for Coca-Cola should tie into our message of happiness and optimism. Beyond that it is not our intention that these campaigns should converge with each other. At Coca-Cola today we have moved beyond the typical quarter wise approach to marketing that we used to follow; that quarter one would be this campaign and quarter two about another. Campaigns now – like the social setup – live longer than a quarter. So for example if we have a ‘meals’ communication going on in parallel, it could talk to those people who want to listen to that kind of a message, while it doesn’t stop other people who want to continue to talk about ‘Hur dum Pakistani’. Why should we stop the campaign or put an artificial break to it? It is about staying always in, always on, with all the messages.