Coke’s new flavor is out of this world｜Coca-Cola Starlight
On February 21, Coca-Cola launched its first limited drink, Coca-Cola Starlight, through the platform of Coca-Cola Creations.
The taste of space?
According to the official description, the flavor is Coca-Cola® Starlight is here and it’s bringing out-of-this-world experiences to Earth for a limited time only.
Out of curiosity, I googled the keywords, the taste of space, and found Astronomers said, “the center of the galaxy will smell like raspberries and rum”. However, when I read the product description, it said that the product is a space-flavored Coca-Cola with a light and refreshing taste.
So, limited edition + abstract flavor + new packaging = successful? No, Coca-Cola has more for us.
“Experimenting with such an iconic brand requires a big leap of faith,” said Oana Vlad, Senior Director, Global Brand Strategy, The Coca-Cola Company.
A new multi-dimensional immersive experience
In conjunction with the launch of Starlight, the new creative platform “Coca-cola Creations” was also unveiled for the first time. As part of Real Magic (a new brand platform of Coca-cola), “Coca-cola Creations” gives Coca-Cola a new expression and meaning through limited product launches, immersive interactive experiences, and cultural and creative activities that track the preference of Generation Z.
Coca-Cola Starlight Launched Four Segments:
- AR Concert: an AR (Augmented Reality) concert with pop singer Ava Max. Which presents an AR concert surrounded by anti-gravity and gradual magic lighting by visiting a specific URL and scanning the code through the bottle.
- Coca-Cola Starlight: limited release of new flavors of Coca-Cola.
- New filters of Starlight: consumers can experience the filters themselves via Instagram and publicly share photos using the filters on social media.
- Starlight x Staple: Collaboration with famous designers to launch clothes.
The AR concert and themed filters are all hosted through the Coca-Cola Creations mobile experience allowing consumers and fans to explore the Coca-Cola Starlight vision through Instagram filters, ASMR experiences, AR experiences, and other interactive experiences. Also, the clothes launched in collaboration with designers is one of their key strategies in the real world, helping to bring Coca-Cola Starlight to real life.
Innovative? Yes; Good enough? No.
The platform is certainly innovative and compelling in presenting a new digital marketing campaign by integrating current trending elements and interactive experiences.
Specifically, the choice of the theme of “Space” is impeccable, and the theme already carries its own traffic bringing influence to the campaign. At the same time, the campaign combined Gen Z’s passion for “exploration” and “the unknown” with a new campaign model to enhance consumer engagement. These are the most appealing parts of the launch for me, and it brings vigor and vitality into the brand.
However, Coca-Cola still needs to do more. When I browsed the Coca-Cola creations, I found that the experience of the AR concert was terrible. The picture quality of the entire AR experience was very rough and even grainy, which made the whole experience feel unpleasant. Also, the image appearing lagging after moving the phone during the AR concert was also depressing. Hence, Coca-Cola should focus on optimizing its digital interface and improving performance to bring consumers a smooth visual feast.
So, do you want to try the taste of space?
