Coke: Placelists
Coca-Cola sought to re-establish its connection with music and social interaction among a younger, digitally-native audience. The brand aimed to create an innovative, engaging platform that reinforced its role in bringing people together, moving beyond traditional advertising to foster genuine community building.
Creative Idea
Coke turned physical locations into collaborative, user-curated jukeboxes, powered by shared music.
Coca-Cola's 'Placelists' campaign leveraged a strategic partnership with Spotify and Facebook to create a location-based music app, enabling users to collaboratively define the soundtrack of their favorite places and foster shared musical experiences, echoing Coke's legacy of uniting people through music.
The Hackathon Prototype That Became a Global Jukebox
From Spotify Hackathon to Global Rollout
The project originated not in a boardroom, but at a Spotify - Coke Hackathon in April 2012. A developer named Pinzler created the initial prototype, which MRY then spent nine months evolving into a massive global application. The technical backbone relied on the Facebook Open Graph, allowing the app to function as a "social jukebox" where users checked into physical locations via the Facebook Places engine to vote on tracks in real - time.
Global Reach from Greenland to Rio
While the campaign targeted major hubs like Rio de Janeiro and Dublin, it achieved unexpected viral success in Upernavik, Greenland, proving the platform's universal appeal. To seed the experience, Coca - Cola enlisted global icons including Pitbull, Depeche Mode, Blur, and R.E.M. to curate the initial soundtracks. This "Brand Utility" approach moved away from traditional spots, instead offering a free service that resulted in over 20,000 unique Placelists created by fans.
Driving Teen Brand Health
The initiative was a strategic response to "digital native" teens migrating away from television. By integrating QR codes directly onto physical cans and bottles, Coke bridged the gap between packaging and mobile discovery. The results were tangible: the campaign engaged over 150,000 music fans and contributed to a broader push that saw a 2% increase in unit price and significant gains in "teen incidence," a critical metric for the brand’s long - term health. As CCO Cedric Devitt noted, the goal was to use innovative technology as a launchpad for future marketing by defining the "real - time soundtrack of any place."
Creative Strategy Deconstructed
Company
Coca-Cola possessed a strong legacy of connecting people through music and the capability to forge significant brand partnerships.
Category
Music streaming services typically focused on individual listening, lacking a strong, integrated social and location-based sharing component.
Customer
Users desired to share their music tastes, collaboratively define the atmosphere of social spaces, and connect through shared soundtracks.
Culture
The rise of social media, location-based services, and pervasive music streaming created a ripe environment for this app.
Company
Coca-Cola possessed a strong legacy of connecting people through music and the capability to forge significant brand partnerships.
Category
Music streaming services typically focused on individual listening, lacking a strong, integrated social and location-based sharing component.
Strategy:
Leverage shared experiences to foster community through a branded utility.
Customer
Users desired to share their music tastes, collaboratively define the atmosphere of social spaces, and connect through shared soundtracks.
Culture
The rise of social media, location-based services, and pervasive music streaming created a ripe environment for this app.
Strategy:
Leverage shared experiences to foster community through a branded utility.
Strategy Technique
Build an Utility, Not an Ad
The campaign's core output was a functional app, 'Placelists,' that offered a genuine service. It integrated the brand into users' social music experiences rather than just advertising.
Explore Technique
Creative Technique
Collaborate with another brand
Coca-Cola strategically partnered with Spotify and Facebook to build the 'Placelists' app. This collaboration was central to creating a functional, integrated music-sharing platform.
Explore Technique
Craft Breakdown
This campaign's craft is exceptional in its seamless integration of complex digital functionalities with a compelling user experience, brilliantly executing a modern reinterpretation of Coca-Cola's enduring message of global harmony through music.
The core 'Placelists' experience, integrating location-based services, Spotify, and Facebook into a cohesive and intuitive app, demonstrates sophisticated digital development and functionality.
The clean, user-friendly interface and vibrant visual design of the Placelists app are critical to its appeal and ease of use, making the complex technology accessible and enjoyable.
The underlying technical architecture, enabling real-time, location-aware music curation and social sharing across multiple platforms, is robust and seamlessly integrated.
The campaign's tagline, 'Now every song has a place. And every place has a song,' is a memorable and concise encapsulation of the product's core value proposition and its emotional resonance.
The campaign's success truly stems from the synergy between robust technology, intuitive design, and a powerful brand message, all working in concert to create a compelling new way to connect through music.
