SINGAPORE — Coca-Cola is a globally loved brand, and the company has offered us the great flavors of the classic Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Sprite, and Fanta, to name a few. Since its conception 138 years ago, the company has grown exponentially and continues to expand with the tastes of generations. From beginning as a pioneer in the cola industry, to becoming an innovator in tech-powered marketing, Coca-Cola proves to stand the test of time.
“The Coca-Cola Company owes its success to constant evolution and, in recent decades, that evolution has been increasingly digital. For us and the beverage industry as a whole, the ability to harness digital technologies and deliver greater value to our consumers, customers and enterprise is paramount. At Coca-Cola, we want to be at the forefront of the digital transformation, especially as we venture into the newest frontier — generative artificial intelligence,” Sam Way, Vice President of the Digital Acceleration Office at Coca-Cola ASEAN and South Pacific shared in this exclusive interview with adobo Magazine.
Continuous learning and agility
Throughout its organization, Coca-Cola is putting a focus on learning and training while promoting what it calls a “fail fast, learn faster” mindset. “We are making strong progress on our digital transformation. As we transitioned from a successful offline operation to an online focus, we adopted a ‘fail fast, learn faster’ mentality, recognizing that there’s no established playbook in this evolving landscape,” said Sam.
He cited that a prime example of their progress is their ecommerce efforts, which have grown significantly in ASEAN and South Pacific. He added that this contributes not only to revenue, but also to a culture of continuous learning and agility.
“To foster this mindset throughout our organization, we’ve implemented comprehensive training programs on AI and digital leadership. Over half of our workforce in ASEAN and South Pacific has participated in these programs, and we remain committed to ongoing development. What’s even more heartening is to see this culture extending outside our company and having a positive impact on our bottlers and customers too.”
In a world ruled by technology, the key to remaining relevant is to be agile and adaptive. “Over the past three decades, we’ve witnessed the mass adoption of the Internet in the 90s, the rise of the mobile industry in the 2000s and, now, we are in the era of artificial intelligence. Keeping pace with these technological advancements is not just a matter of relevance; it’s fundamental to making our brand accessible and purchasable,” Sam emphasized.
The ability to connect with their consumers is the cornerstone of Coca-Cola’s business growth, and Sam explained that this is best epitomized by their approach to ecommerce engagement. He shared that this is made by following three Cs: connectivity, clickability and convenience. Connectivity links their consumer journey seamlessly. Clickability ensures everything is easy to purchase. And convenience makes the entire process straightforward.
“Achieving these objectives is only possible through the strategic and deliberate use of the latest technologies. At Coca-Cola, we are committed to continuous innovation to maintain a strong connection with our consumers. In today’s world, technology provides countless opportunities to innovate faster and better. However, it’s important to remember that our efforts are not about leveraging technology for its own sake — the consumer must always be at the heart of everything we do.”
With the use of technology and AI in every end of the business, Coca-Cola recognizes the importance of safety. Sam expressed, “Early on, our company established an internal, global Digital Council made up of diverse individuals and skill sets to develop and steward an integrated digital agenda overseeing governance, priorities and resource allocation. This ensures that we critically assess intended outcomes prior to implementation, so that the adoption of AI is purposeful, impactful, and secure, and so that we can accelerate the highest-impact initiatives.”
How knowledge from technology and AI translate to real-world results
Technology and AI have made it easier to know more about consumers through data analysis. This has presented a myriad of marketing opportunities for Coca-Cola, which launched a new product uniquely designed with AI: the Coca-Cola Y3000 Zero Sugar.
“Coca-Cola Y3000 Zero Sugar is a great example of how we have tapped AI to enhance human creativity. Fans around the world provided perspectives that, combined with AI insights, inspired Y3000’s unique taste. Additionally, by harnessing regional data — from flavor preferences to preferred consumption occasions — we created hyper-local campaigns that resonated with each market. The AI-powered campaign became our top performing Coca-Cola Creation to date!” Sam exclaimed.
Another notable project is the collaboration between Coca-Cola and Grab. In 2022, the two corporate leaders in Southeast Asia forged a regional partnership that leverages Coca-Cola’s extensive offline retail presence and Grab’s robust online network.
In Singapore, Coke&Go, the latest innovation from the two companies, features a smart cooler that allows consumers to purchase with Grab. They simply need to scan the QR code through their Grab app, pick up the beverage, and pay. “It brings a new level of convenience to tech-savvy consumers, and we anticipate deploying hundreds of units across Singapore by early next year,” said Sam.
Sam shared that Coca-Cola is also utilizing AI in their internal processes: “Within our operations globally, we’ve rolled out an AI Use Case Submission Portal. As we continue to embrace generative AI throughout our organization, we’ve been keen to invite innovative ideas from our employees. Within this hub, we review the most creative and impactful ideas as we unlock more ways this technology can create opportunities across consumer, customer, and enterprise experiences. Every submission must show clear business value and lay out the needed resources, allowing us to focus on high-impact projects while ensuring AI is deployed safely and effectively.”
Experimenting with digital tools
Within its organization, Coca-Cola is focused on staying at the forefront of digital experimentation, learning and implementation. For example, the company is currently testing how Copilot for Microsoft 365 could help improve workplace productivity.
“Coca-Cola ChatGPT, our customized version of ChatGPT, is another good example. It’s designed to empower our workforce while being integrated into our secure network to protect data and privacy. Engagement has been strong and feedback mostly positive — I’m a huge fan myself! We’re constantly innovating, adding new features like personas and plug-ins to improve its usefulness,” said Sam.
