Coca-Coca launches mobile social network

Coca-Cola Co. is creating a mobile phone social network for Sprite, a brand known to be popular with teenagers.

by Helen Leggatt

The soft drinks giant hopes to create a “virtual teenage hangout”, resembling MySpace or FaceBook, for its second-largest brand.

"The Coca-Cola Company needs to continue to recruit future generations of consumers," said Mark Greatrex, senior vice president of marketing for Coca-Cola, during the keynote address at the recent Mobile Marketing Forum in New York. "Mobile marketing is absolutely where it's at for us going forward."

The mobile social network, called “Sprite Yard”, was launched in China last week, and will be launched in the U.S. on June, 22.

Coca-Cola plans to offer a variety of free content, including wallpapers, video clips and music, to users who provide on-product promotion codes. Furthermore, the network will be tailored specifically for mobile phones. As with online social networking sites, Sprite Yard will allow users to create profiles, display photo’s and meet others.

According to a report in the InformationWeek blog, Sprite representatives have said that they don’t expect to generate any revenue from Sprite Yard other than through growing sales of the beverage.

“Sprite will be our pioneer in the fast-moving world of mobile marketing,” Greatrex told the Forum audience. “We believe Sprite Yard is the most comprehensive mobile marketing effort on the planet.”