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Coca-Cola Bottling pairs mobile loyalty, live experiences for racing fans

Author

Chantal Tode
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. and mobile fan experience technology firm Experience are teaming up to enhance the experience for NASCAR fans at the Darlington Raceway during Labor Day weekend with new in-application features such as discounts, pre-race pace car rides, VIP experiences, race tickets and beverage coupons. 

Fans attending the Labor Day weekend races at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, S.C., can download the raceway?s app and receive notifications about exclusive promotions through My Coke Rewards. The promotion reflects the synergy being derived from combining mobile, loyalty and live sporting events by major sponsors. 

?Coca-Cola Consolidated partnered with Darlington Raceway and Experience as an innovative way to refresh and refuel race fans,? said Emilie Nicholls, communications manager at Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated.

?The Experience app allows us to engage with fans socially as well as provide access to unique race opportunities, ticket upgrades, Coca-Cola products, pre-race pace car rides and driver meetings,? she said. 
Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated is the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States. 

Enhancing fan experiences
?Race attendees must register for My Coke Rewards, Coca-Cola?s loyalty program, to participate. Once registered, fans receive points that can be used to redeem the various offerings. 

Coca-Cola has partnered with the Darlington Raceway for years. The new experience will further enhance its ability to engage with race fans while they are at the raceway. Additionally, Coca-Cola can extend the brand and reach new fans through the mobile channel.


Pairing sports and mobile is an important ongoing strategy for Coca-Cola. 

This summer, Coca-Cola leveraged the excitement surrounding the summer Olympics by tapping global influencers to upload social media content defining their own meaningful successes and encouraging fans to join in the fun via the #ThatsGold hashtag (see story). 

In June, Coca-Cola tapped into the frenzy surrounding basketball player and Sprite brand ambassador LeBron James and his team's National Basketball Association Finals win through a millennial-centric call to action in which users shares videos of their own handshakes inspired by the famous athlete (see story). 

Integrated marketing
Other beverage marketers are similarly pairing mobile and event marketing. 

PepsiCo leveraged the excitement surrounding last weekend?s MTV Video Music Awards by introducing a new mobile-optimized music hub during the show, allowing millennials to enjoy tunes and discover up-and-coming artists through the Shazam-amplified platform (see story). 


For these efforts to be a success, it is important that the experiences are integrated and easy to use. 

?Download and open the Darlington Raceway mobile app on your iPhone or Android phone,? said Kelly Buday, spokeswoman for Experience. ?Tap ?Coke Rewards? in the main menu.

?Register with your name, email and mobile phone number,? she said. ?Spend your two Coke Rewards points on any available upgrade or VIP experience.?