Coca-Cola Recycling struts its stuff at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week
NEW YORK: Coca-Cola Recycling is making green the new black with a recycling programme at the Mercedes-Benz Fall Fashion Week Fall 2009 Collections. Fashion devotees attending the shows will be encouraged to “Give it Back” by recycling their used bottles, cans, glass, aluminum, plastic, and cardboard.
More than 25 recycling bins bearing the “Give It Back” logo will be placed throughout the complex in Bryant Park including the lobby, hospitality lounges and backstage areas during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Fall 2009 Collections from 13 - 20 February.
“Recycling at the tents is an easy way for all Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week attendees to do their part to protect the environment and minimize waste,” commented Fern Mallis, Senior Vice President of IMG Fashion. “We are grateful to Coca-Cola Recycling for helping us create a new and important tradition of recycling during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.”
Coca-Cola Recycling worked with New York recycler, Boro Recycling Inc., to establish a recycling program to meet the needs of the more than 100,000 attendees during the eight days of shows, events and activities. Boro will be making multiple pick-ups onsite each day to ensure a smooth operation. The collected materials will then be sent to recycling processors throughout the northeast to be reused in new products. Coca-Cola Recycling estimates that 11,000 thousand pounds of recyclables will be collected during this effort alone.
Cool & Beautiful
Coca-Cola Aluminum Bottles: A Collaboration of Art & Science
They began as pop art. The sleek aluminum bottles of Coca-Cola®, Diet Coke®, Coke Zero® and Sprite® that have been making waves with guests in full-service IHG hotels over the past two years started off as a marketing initiative and packaging experiment.
The Coca-Cola Company created its first aluminum contour bottles in 2005 as a hip collector’s item aimed at trendsetting young adults in Europe and other major markets outside North America. While “straight-wall” aluminum bottles had been used by a few other beverage brands, Coca-Cola was the first to work with bottle manufacturers to develop a fully shaped aluminum body.
Studios from around the world were commissioned to create five exquisite designs for the aluminum printed bottles–dubbed M5 for “the magnificent five”–using special inks that illuminated under black light. The bottles were launched into the nightlife channel, with accompanying video, music and other marketing, and were positioned as a limited edition to increase their premium cachet.
“The bottles were wildly popular,” says Cami Simmons, Senior Manager, Strategic Partnership Marketing, for The Coca-Cola Company. “The appealing shape, cold feel and sexy look of the aluminum bottle generated immediate consumer interest. Two years later, we introduced the contour aluminum bottle to North America.”
Heightening Demand
The Coca-Cola strategy on this side of the pond was similar to the global introduction of the unique new package: to reinforce brand equity and the “badge value” of the iconic Coca-Cola contour bottle. The launch here centered on the company’s four core trademark brands, with the goal of driving consumer interaction and experience with the product versus taking the “collectibles” approach used for the M5 versions.
Distribution is focused on upscale on-premise locations, Cami notes, such as hotels, full-service restaurants, event venues, bars and nightclubs. “Our aluminum bottles allow operators to enhance the end-to-end premium guest experience,” she says. “Now everything they offer communicates quality to the consumer–the property, the service, the food, the surroundings, even the beverage packaging.”
The bottles are resealable, 100 percent recyclable and, at 8.5 ounces, smaller than standard cans and bottles, helping fill a consumer desire for a smaller serving size. They also command a premium price, further allowing operators to boost beverage revenues and maximize profitability.
Guest response at IHG hotels using the bottles has been enthusiastic. “The aluminum bottles are a novelty and a conversation piece, because they can’t be found in regular outlets. Guests tend to take extras with them as souvenirs from banquets, meeting breaks and the minibars,” says Jason Deville, Assistant Food & Beverage Manager for the InterContinental Miami. “As a result, our volumes are up. And the rich colors and streamlined shape of the bottles create a big impact in our break presentations. We’ve even used them in VIP amenity packages.”
Coca-Cola and IHG are developing a turnkey kit, to be rolled out this fall, for hotels to use in merchandising the aluminum bottles. “The kit will provide ideas for effectively displaying the packaging in a variety of outlets–as part of a signature catering break, at poolside, in the bar and in the minibars. It will also include some Coke-themed specialty items, such as coolers,” Cami says.
Appeal of the Contour
The unique new packaging continues to be in the news and in the spotlight, showing up in media coverage of such celebrity-studded events as the New York Food & Wine Festival, Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, American Idol and throughout the West Coast film and television industry awards season.
“The aluminum bottles resonate with people of all ages,” Cami says. “Some see them as a contemporary interpretation of the iconic Coca-Cola glass contour. Others are attracted by the packaging’s uniqueness and upscale feel, and still others love the ‘cool factor.’ In every case, the appeal is strongly aligned with our brands, and the bottles create a positive consumer experience.”
