Every Christmas season, the Coca-Cola company, globally, aims to share the joy of Christmas to as many around the world as is possible. This is true for other occasions as well, but Christmas is a very special time to so many, the Company puts much effort into bringing joy at this time.

As TCCC (The Coca-Cola Company) has a large footprint in Japan, which many, many products, and distribution throughout the country, they place a lot of emphasis on this market.

This past year, they wanted to create some warm buzz around an activity that would bring the brand closer to the Japanese.

The main aim was to bring the people of Japan something unexpected for Christmas. After months of planning with the use of drone technology, a meticulously orchestrated show of lights was created and displayed in the Yokohama night sky.

The 15-minute show included a display of Santa and his sleigh complete with reindeer, a Christmas tree, Christmas gifts, Santa’s face, Santa drinking a bottle of Coke and also the Coke Caravan, with independently moving wheels.

The strategy was to reach as many people in Japan as possible, and along with that it was also, certainly, to capture the attention of those most enamored with Santa. It was known that a spectacle in the sky would be shared and enjoyed by far more than the people that attended the event in Yokohama. So extra attention was placed on making the show just as spectacular as possible.

TCCC, the agency and the drone supplying company worked extremely closely over the many weeks, exchanging designs, theme ideas, and even choreography of the drone movements. While the planning began in early fall, the event over the skies of Yokohama took place at the end of November, just as the Christmas season was going into full swing.

TCCC announced the event to the local public in the area and invited citizens to come to the Yokohama location letting them know there would be a show at the bayfront area. The show started at 7pm and lasted for 15-17 minutes. News outlets were also invited, included online bloggers and influencers.

So, while the scale was just this one event, there opportunity for sharing scenes of that event were plentiful across Japan.

While over 50,000 attended the event and performance in person, media exposure earned reach worth over ¥150 million. And the Real Magic of this branded entertainment show was experienced by over 25 million across the nation, accounting for 20% of the entire country.