How I Would Spin the Ronaldo-Coke Saga as a Content Marketer.
Few days ago, the world witnessed famous footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, push two bottles of Coke away from himself in favour of bottles of water at the Euro 2020 press conference, encouraging people to drink water instead.
After this, many made speculations of a negative impact on the brand — of losing $4 billion of its market value, assuming a cause-and-effect scenario.
Whether this is true or not is not the issue, but here’s what I would have done if I were in the content marketing team for Coca-Cola.
Stay Authentic
Coca-Cola will never be a replacement for water, so there’s no need trying to create rebuttal content or push against that narrative. However, I would instead highlight how it is much more than one of the fizzy drinks. It’s an experience, a culture…
I would dwell on that.
Find the Lighter side.
It would not be out of place to remind the world through some banter and memes that years ago, CR7 was ambassador for Coca-Cola itself. The irony, right? Obviously this wouldn’t be shared on official content platforms and is a bit controversial to do.
Not everyone would take this risk, and I perfectly understand.
Upweight my healthier products
Understanding that athletes truly need less of fizzy drinks, I would highlight the brand’s healthier drink options that athletes can enjoy.
Introduce a ‘Something for Everyone’ content spree — showcasing less carproducts like Coke Zero, Diet Coke, Sprite Zero & the Minute Maid juice variety.
Or better still, look into the smoothies and fruit juice options and opportunities like my friend Temidayo Adefioye is doing with Fruitiza.
In all, the lessons from this event are numerous and brands must remain cautious about how they position their offerings with such powerful influencers to avoid future backlash.
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