Springtime...Baseball...Hot Dogs...Peanuts...Coke...  I remember growing up on the south side of Chicago watching my beloved Chicago White Sox play at the old Comisky Park.  My father would take me to a few games during the summer and I would remember the refreshment vendor walking up the aisle saying "Things go better with..." and all the kids in the section would shout "Coke".  The Coke vendor would smile while collecting our dollars and pass out the drinks to active and excited kids rooting for the home team wearing their baseball mitts and baseball caps.  I had experienced as is often said "A good time at the old ball park"  although I never did catch a foul ball!

As a young child, I was already hearing marketing messages that became part of my everyday experience.  This baseball vendor memory came to light while reading an Argyle Conversation with Ira Gleser at Coca-Cola.  Ira works at Coke as a Vice President of Industry Comnmunications for Coca-Cola Refreshments.  In his conversation,  Ira details how he orchestrates business to business communications about Coke through industry/association events, trade publications, websites and social media.  Ira's job is to reach their customers in person, in print and online, with messaging that ties back to what they are trying to achieve as a company and reinforce a positive perception of the company in the industries that they serve.

So what is Coke doing to stand it apart in the highly competive beverage industry? Two things jumped out at me:

1. Implementing impact programs.  Coke has launched a program which engages key audiences with thought leadership and industry knowlege from research studies.  Coke is getting trememdous interest in the latest research coming out of the Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council focused on social networking.  Everyone is thinking about social media and how to utilize this medium to build their business and grow brand loyalty.

2.  Leveraging publications.  Coke is also driving thought leadership and industry knowlege in publications by being proactive, responsive and building stronger relationships with key editors at the publications the customers are reading.

I have just touched a few areas Coca-Cola is doing to stay a world leader in the beverage industry.  If you are interested in reading the entire converstion with Coke, click here for the Argyle Conversation. 

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