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#BrandManagerMonth: Marina Loubser from Coca-Cola SA

By Jessica Taylor

18 Mar 2016

18 Mar 2016

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Coca-Cola recently launched the One Brand global marketing strategy that, "for the first time ever, unites Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light/Diet, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Life under the iconic Coca-Cola brand positioning in one global creative campaign: Taste the Feeling."

Marina Loubser

I asked Marina Loubser, brand manager of Coca-Cola South Africa, to elaborate on this, to comment on her involvement in other local campaigns such as Share a Coke, and explain what she loves most about working on one of the world’s most iconic brands.

“Strategically, I think it makes a lot of sense for us to market one brand and to give consumers the choice as to which Coca-Cola suits their taste, lifestyle and diet,” said Loubser. “I absolutely love the visual appeal of this campaign, it literally drops jaws and stops traffic. We have looked at which creative elements have worked hard for the brand in the past and interpreted it in a centennial way. So while it is fresh and modern, it still retains the brand’s iconic look and feel. It simply makes you want to enjoy an ice-cold Coca-Cola.”

The Coca-Cola Company has more than 500 sparkling and still brands and sells 1.9 billion servings a day in more than 200 countries. Which of these brands do you manage?

I work in a team that focuses on the Coca-Cola Brand, which includes Coke (classic), Coke Zero and Coke Light.

What are the company’s most successful brands in SA, in order of popularity, and why would you say so?

Coca-Cola, Fanta and Sprite deliver the highest sales volume to the company. In terms of brand appeal, Coca-Cola was voted the Coolest Cold Drink by the 2015 Sunday Times Generation Next awards on numerous occasions. Coca-Cola is a brand that consumers know and love due to its great taste, uplifting refreshment and the association with good times with friends and family. In addition to this, Coca-Cola continuously strives to surprise and delight consumers with engaging campaigns that enable people to create special moments with the brand.

What do you see currently as the main challenges and/or opportunities for such consumer brands in the FMCG sector?

The current economic situation has had an impact on disposable income for most consumers. FMCG brands will need to come up with innovative solutions to enable their consumers to be able still to purchase and enjoy their favourite brands.

In addition, we live in a digitally connected and diverse world. There are many opportunities for FMCG brands to find ways to connect consumers to what drives and inspires them in order to remain relevant.

How is the One Brand strategy playing out in SA?

The campaign officially kicked off on 1 March in South Africa with a fully integrated marketing campaign inclusive of film (TV/cinema/digital), social, print, out of home (OOH), music, shopper, and PR. With a bank of footage available to us, we have launched three TVCs from the global campaign that we feel will work best in our market and we’ve targeted iconic out-of-home sites truly to bring the campaign visuals to life with the tag line Enjoy the Feeling.

Comment on your involvement in other local campaigns, i.e. Share a Coke.

I have been working on the project management and creative development of Coca-Cola campaigns since 2011, which has been an incredible journey. Some of the most memorable ones have been Share a Coke, in which we managed to print thousands of South African names on our packs. It was so rewarding to see consumers participating in and creating so much content, which was a fantastic end result. In addition to this, creating a rainbow over the Joburg skyline to celebrate 20 years of democracy was something I will never forget. It was brave work that resulted in the brand getting numerous awards, including a Cannes Gold Lion.

Explain your own brand management strategy and how it ties into Coca-Cola’s overall marketing/corporate communications.

One of Coca-Cola’s brand values is being actively optimistic and, personally, I believe in being solutions orientated and striving to come up with new and innovative ideas with colleagues and agency partners. By framing challenges in a positive way and encouraging a little competition, you often get very creative and successful results.

What does it mean to be a brand manager?

Being a brand manager means being a custodian of a brand. It’s your job to strive to make it a little bit better each day by driving progress and protecting the elements of the brand that should remain untouched.

Describe your typical working day.

I’m a working mum, so balance between meetings and desk time is imperative. I try to do one thing every day that progresses each of my projects in a meaningful way.

What do you love most about working for the world-famous Coca-Cola brand?

I love the people I work with and the energy that comes from working on exciting projects. And, most importantly, I love the variety and scope of the projects we work on. It’s an incredible experience to work on one of the world’s most iconic brands and to be able to contribute to consumer experiences.