Coca-Cola’s Brand-sational World Expo Pavillion

May 15, 2010 Blog 2 comments

My visit to the Coca-Cola Pavillion at the Shanghai World Expo was certainly one of the highlights of my trip. As a geek who firmly believes in the virtues of experiential marketing, branded entertainment and transmedia storytelling, I was almost brought to tears (fanboy style) by Coke’s immaculate attention to details here.

Every single consumer touchpoint in its pavillion, fashioned after its world-famous “Happiness Factory” transmedia campaign, was a 360 degree brand encounter. The entire holistic and immersive experience was orchestrated to stimulate the senses, from sight, sound, scent, taste to touch. For Coca-Cola fans, it was also highly emotional and community bonding.

Let me bring you through the journey.
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We were all pretty excited as we board the Coca-Cola bus which brought us to the World Expo site adjacent to the Huangpu River.

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Here are some of the passes, tickets and wrist-bands needed to gain exclusive entry.

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At the Expo site, we were greeted by these chirpy employees from Coke, who acknowledged us as Coca-Cola VIPs.

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Here’s how the “Happiness Factory” aka Coca-Cola pavillion looks like.

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Drink stands like these were everywhere at the World Expo site, courtesy of Coca-Cola, the official beverage sponsor.

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These characters from the Happiness Factory were ubiquitous. Over there, they are perched cheekily on top of a roof.

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More of the Coke characters “performing” on a stage. Perfect for photo moments.

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Once inside the pavillion, these various Coke memorabilia greeted me in the factory like setting. The text panel here highlighted Coke’s environmental sustainability initiatives.

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Smile and say “cheese” at the Employee of the Month corner!

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Along the way, we were greeted by screens like these showing introductory “pre-briefing” videos. The anticipation was similar to that of visiting a theme park ride at Universal Studios or Disneyland.

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Once inside the scarlet red theatre (of course!), we seated ourselves comfortably for the main event.

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Members of the audience could be heard gasping, “Oohing”, and “Aahing” during the screening of the short Happiness Factory movie.


Unfortunately, I can’t bring that screening to you. However, the Happiness Factory movie above (which shows what happens inside a vending machine) may be a good representation.

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After that cinematic experience, we were ushered out and greeted by more 3D Coke characters.

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Everybody was given a special sized bottle of Coke, chilled to between -2 and -5 deg Celcius.

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Here’s my bottle of refreshment as I await the most exciting moment in the pavillion…

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…and that was of course drinking it. However, we were taught by this girl to turn the bottle a few times, twist open the cap to let some gas escape, and witness the formation of ice crystals in the drink before imbibing it. The taste was awesome of course.

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More snowy characters from the set of the Happiness Factory.

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These little posters on the ceiling were full of friendly sayings on how you can use your Coke.

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I couldn’t resist this photo opportunity next to a giant bottle of Coke and those luscious lips!

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Outside the pavillion, I chanced upon this souvenir shop and bought some collector’s item bottles.

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A showcase of Coke bottles through the ages. Yes, the brand is 124 years old in 2010!

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These young kids enjoyed posing with the characters, while watching out for those bright red lips.


Kids brightly dressed in national costumes with equally bright smiles preparing for a performance on stage. (photo courtesy of Coke)

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On one of the walls, Alvin and myself couldn’t resist striking some silly poses. Feels like a “Where’s Wally” game.

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The ultimate tribute to Coke’s birthday celebration by one of our fellow bloggers from Korea.

By Walter
Founder of Cooler Insights, I am a geek marketer with almost 24 years of senior management experience in marketing, public relations and strategic planning. Since becoming an entrepreneur 5 years ago, my team and I have helped 58 companies and over 2,200 trainees in digital marketing, focusing on content, social media and brand storytelling.

2 Comments

  1. woah..nice one man..when did you go to Shanghai? I was hoping to visit the World Expo one day..but aye..my wallet kept saying no..LOL..

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