Coke Taps YouTube-sters for Campaign

Add another big-name brand to the scions of those tapping user content for new campaigns. The Coca-Cola company has turned part of their holiday campaign to the amateur videographers on YouTube.

by Kristina Knight

Coke’s Holiday Wishcast allows YouTube users to create their own holiday video greetings and post them online for friends. It is the first time the beverage giant has tapped into the power of YouTube.

"It's important for the brand to connect with people in relevant and positive ways," said Tim Kopp, vice-president of global interactive marketing for Coca-Cola (via AdWeek). "From a marketing standpoint, we were weighing the right risks and rewards."

It’s also a change from Coca-Cola, who previously ignored the possibility of user-generated content in an ad campaign. When a viral video of Diet Coke and Mentos began to circulate, beverage execs ignored it, but Mentos execs started a contest on YouTube – yielding great results. When Coke saw the results, they turned Coke.com into a user generated content site. They eventually joined up with the original Diet Coke/Mentos video creators to run their own contest.

The move to allow YouTube users to create their own holiday greeting cards is another indication that brands big and small are beginning to understand the use of user generated content like viral video.