Profile: Andres Kiger on Coca-Cola's digital future in China

Innovation is a much-used word in Andres Kiger's vocabulary, something that should not be too surprising for the person tasked with leading Coca-Cola's integrated efforts in China.

"We are trying to use the digital platform in a new and exciting way," says Coca-Cola's senior director of integrated marketing. "We have lots of media we can leverage - our packaging, point-of-sale, in store - but we need to continue to use innovative technology to help develop more interesting media messages."

Kiger's career trajectory reflects his passion for brand innovation. He started out working briefly on the agency side in Mexico, before joining a small company in sales and marketing. But it was his move to Coca-Cola in Atlanta 10 years ago, that established his technological credentials.

Just 18 months into the new job, Kiger proposed a B2B platform for the company's merchandising materials. As part of this he created an e-commerce platform, primarily out of China, which prompted his move to Hong Kong in 2001.

In 2007, Kiger moved to Shanghai to help lead the company's marketing platform, primarily around the Beijing Olympics, which coincided with the huge wave of digital growth in China.

This year Kiger has again been tasked with integrating Coca-Cola's communications in China around two similarly large-scale events - the World Cup in South Africa and the Shanghai World Expo. The brand is the official sponsor for both.

The branding for the World Cup is built around Coke's global 'open happiness' theme in China, connecting the spirit of football, with Coke's prescribed values of optimism and happiness. For the Expo the work has taken a different perspective and is exploiting Chinese aspirations.

"The brand has developed a number of platforms that tap into Chinese consumer insights," says Kiger. "People are very passionate and they want to show China to the world."

But Coca-Cola's digital mission in China is about more than building online platforms around big-ticket events, or even its flagship soft drink brand.

Important for the brand is that it is able to stay ahead of the curve, both in China and beyond, in terms of integrating brand and media. "The speed of media development in Asia is so fast, that I am sure we will see some great innovation in future," says Kiger.

He points to the work the company has done in terms of connecting its brands to music. "In China, we are fortunate in that we entered the music space very early. Since 2004, we began using it as a sponsoring platform with the Sprite music chart. In 2006 we launched the Sprite singing talent competition - a hugely popular singing contest that airs on Dragon TV."

Coca-Cola has also partnered with Taiwanese teenage pop band Fahrenheit to create a pop video for the 'First Coke of the year' campaign. "Consumers had a chance to pass a Coke to their friends, and virtually become a part of the music video with Fahrenheit," he says.

China has also been the launchpad for a number of new products. Last year, Minute Maid Pulpy Super Milky was Coke's first venture into China's lucrative dairy drink market.

In March this year, the company introduced Sprite Tea. Using Taiwanese popstar Jay Chou as brand ambassador, the TV and online campaign ran nationwide, blending what Kiger says is "the leading position of Sprite and love people have for the taste of green tea."

Reflecting his background, Kiger is putting special emphasis in the next year or so on Coca-Cola's digital capabilities.

"In 2010, digital marketing will continue to be a great platform that we can build and develop. We have great innovations and brands supported by robust digital foundations," he says.

At the same time, however, he is aware of the difficulties of the increasingly cluttered digital space.

"The next big challenge is tracking the effectiveness of digital investments. With more players coming to the digital space, there is a risk of saturation. We need to work harder and make sure our digital platforms are creative and well positioned."

This article was originally published in the 17 June 2010 issue of Media.