Most Global Campaign Ever? Soccer Fever Transcreated…
News
For the next month, football fans around the world will be united in World Cup fervour, a collective frenzy ranging from pure elation to inconsolable rage and quiet disappointment. International events such as the World Cup present the perfect opportunity for global brands to appeal to customers in their local market based around one global concept. Which is exactly what Coca-Cola has done with its anthem “the World is Ours”.
The song is the anchor for Coca-Cola’s World Cup campaign – the brand’s largest campaign ever, covering 85% of its markets (175 out of 207 local markets). The brand chose David Correy, a Brazilian-American X-Factor contestant, to perform the main song. Coca-Cola has adapted the song for local markets, working with local artists and translators to create 32 country-specific versions.
Behind the News
In today’s globalised world, culture, brand and identity are becoming increasingly homogenous: from Maputo to New York iconic brands such as Coca-Cola are instantly recognisable; football fans are equally as excited about the World Cup in Lima as they are in Amsterdam. It’s everybody’s drink, everybody’s game. Everybody’s world. This is the lynchpin of Coca-Cola’s World Cup campaign – the idea of a shared global culture.
At the same time, there is a counter-trend towards localisation. National identity still counts, local customs are important and language matters. Localised campaigns encourage greater brand interaction and engagement, as they are given relevance and meaning. Customers can better relate to a campaign if the theme song is in their own language, the humour resonates with theirs and local nuances are accounted for. A localisation campaign is successful when customers feel a true connection with the brand.
Through its World Cup campaign, Coca-Cola is attempting to do exactly that. The “World is Ours” is hinged on an overarching idea of a shared global identity, embodied by the World Cup: thirty two teams gather together from everywhere to play one game, and follow one set of rules. Yet each of those teams is unique and different. It’s a global strategy focusing on local identity.
Coca-cola has not just directly transplanted the campaign to local markets; by using local artists, trans-creation and interpretation, the brand has lent authenticity to the campaign through cultural adaptation.