Case story

The Coca-Cola Way of Marketing

How a global marketing system reconnected around one shared way of working, and kept it for more than a decade.

The need

The world’s biggest brand had become a collection of local businesses.

  • 18different job descriptions for the same brand-manager role
  • Dozensof separate campaigns for the same global moments, like Christmas and the Olympics
  • 0shared language, methods, or standards that let work travel across markets

How do you get the benefits of global scale back without losing local relevance?

The action

Start with what marketing is for, not with the org chart.

One year of design, in five steps.

  1. A Manifesto for Growth

    The company made its growth choices: where to focus and how to win.

  2. An imperative for marketing

    Build the world’s most loved brands in ways that fuel the sustainable value growth of the business.

  3. The fusion of art and science

    What makes marketing at Coca-Cola different: the best of both, never one without the other.

    Fusion is at the coreEvolution is mandatoryExternally informed, internally writtenCreated by many

  4. DNA 0.7, shared for input

    A first version went to experts across the Coca-Cola system to challenge and co-create.

  5. DNA 1.0, rolled out globally

    One model for every brand and every market. If you have a better way, bring it, and it gets adopted.

The operating model

Art and science, woven together like DNA.

1shared vision: brand love and brand value
10bases where the art and science work gets done
5fusion points where the critical decisions are made

Built into how the work gets done

  • Project Charters

    Markets compete to lead programs for everyone.

  • Marketing Factory

    One set of stages and gates, everywhere.

  • Hot Houses

    Brands and agencies co-create in one place.

  • Global Awards

    Rewarding the behaviors that drive growth.

Impact

One year to design. More than a decade of impact.

#1on the Effie Index for marketing effectiveness in 6 of 9 years

  • Better work

    The global launch of Coke Zero and campaigns like Open Happiness.

  • Scale

    Big ideas created once, executed brilliantly everywhere.

  • Speed

    The “how” was settled, so teams focused on the “what.”

  • Engagement

    Clear roles and a shared language for marketers, customers, and bottlers.

Every great marketing organization needs its own way.

MarCaps partners led the design and global rollout of the Coca-Cola Way of Marketing. Now we help marketing leaders design theirs.

Talk to usinquiries@marcaps.com

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