7th consecutive win for Coca-Cola as SLIM Nielsen’s Youth Beverages Brand of the Year

Coca-Cola won the Youth Beverage Brand of the Year Award for the seventh consecutive year at the prestigious SLIM Nielsen People’s Choice Awards 2014. Immediate Past Project Chair and Project Secretary of the SLIM Nielsen People’s Choice Awards Upul Adikari presented the award to Coca-Cola.
The delicious and refreshing taste of Coca-Cola has connected with Sri Lankans for more than 58 years, and today Coca-Cola has become synonymous with happiness and optimism. Globally, Coca-Cola reaches more than 1.8 billion people across the world each day, providing the brand with the opportunity to be a small part of people’s everyday moments of sharing happiness.
Through sports, music, festivals or social causes, Coca-Cola has connected with the people of Sri Lanka. From becoming a part of festivals like Avurudu, activating the Happiness Truck for Christmas, creating moments of sharing and togetherness during mealtimes at home, as well as by supporting grassroots cricket through ‘Coca-Cola Cricket Pathway’ camps, organising music festivals like Coke Ekka Rock Wenna and working on several community initiatives on water, sanitation and recycling, Coca-Cola has created multiple touch-points to connect with the youth across the country.
“After winning the award for the seventh consecutive year, we can say, that as brand managers we are doing things that resonate with the youth. In today’s era of maximum choice for consumers, and low engagement levels, we have to constantly work to keep our consumers, especially youngsters interested in our brands and programs. The challenge is to continue to be the brand of choice. The bar gets set higher and higher for us each time,” said Coca-Cola Sri Lanka and Maldives Country Manager Abhishek Jugran.
The ‘Coke Ekka Rock Wenna’ campaign was aimed to encourage Sri Lankan’s youth to share happiness with music and Coca-Cola. The concert was a platform for Coca-Cola to build social connections and spread happiness using music. Another platform that the company has created is the ‘Coca-Cola Cricket Pathways’ programs works with a twofold objective of unearthing cricketing talent from a grassroots level and encouraging school students to lead active healthy lifestyles.
To connect better with the youth, Coca-Cola has had national cricketers Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena as Ambassadors for the past seven years.
The company has recently launched a new summer campaign to encourage consumers to quench their thirst with an ice-cold, hydrating Coca-Cola. Consumers who buy any 175 ml or 300 ml of Coca-Cola, Fanta or Sprite will stand a chance to win a Coke buddy bottle free.
Coca-Cola has always been a brand that stood for great taste and high quality and with its uplifting, refreshing and energising taste, has created moments of togetherness and happiness for thousands of Sri Lankans. Over the years, Coca-Cola has become one of the most loved and preferred beverages in Sri Lanka and is today the largest soft drink brand in the country.