In Oct 2011, Thailand suffered the worst floods in its history, draining the happiness of Thais. People were glued to TV and social media which were over-saturated by the disaster. As the natural companion to good times, Coke mobilized Thais to reverse the tide of bad news with stories of hope and encourage participation in the reconstruction. We wanted to build visible monuments to ignite visions of a brighter future and establish a platform where dreams for a better Thailand could be shared.

We lit up a building with an animated display, showing tales of heroism during the floods that we called the Beacon of Hope. It was socially powered with live integration of Facebook and touch screens to receive well wishes. Social media was also used to recruit volunteers and announce reconstruction activities. We convinced journalists to make good news a daily feature on their programs to sustain the trend of positivity. Finally, a mall roof was wrapped to create the world’s biggest Coke bottle as a memorial landmark which we called the Hall of Happiness. Inside, we held an exhibition to commemorate the floods and the millions of well wishes received during the campaign to show to the world that Thailand is ready to move forward.

Results:

• Thailand’s Gross Domestic Happiness (GDH) increased from 66% to 75%

• 137 million engagements through social media, thereby, resulting in a productivity of only USD 0.0003 per engagement

• Established a “Coke Positive Energy” community of more than 15,000 volunteers who actively participated in the Coca-Cola reconstruction efforts by registering both online and during on-ground activations

• Successfully raised funds to the tune of U$ 2.8M that was donated to the Thai Red Cross and Habitat for Humanity in the rebuilding of more than 600 homes and 25 schools in the worst affected provinces

• Market share growth from 38% to 51% by year end, Coke regained the no. 1 position after 25 years of being behind Pepsi (Highly confidential)