Coca-Cola currently has 3.3 million fans following its Facebook page, what’s so incredible about this is that wasn’t started by Coca-Cola.
LA residents Dusty Sorg and Michael Jedrzejewski couldn’t find an Official page for Coca-Cola and so they decided to create a page themselves.
He downloaded images and set up the Fan Page, and before long it was a very popular site. Then last November Facebook brought in a new policy that required pages that promoted brands to be operated by the authorised brand. Facebook gave Coke the option, the page is closed or is handed over to Coke.
Coke had to make the choice, and with such a big following the decided to give Sorg and Jedrzejewski a call.
Initially Jedrzejewski said he was very worried about the call but Coke flew them both to Atlanta to talk business and ask that they officially run the page!
Coke wasn’t always naturally at ease with the idea that consumers are increasingly in control. For Coke this could easily have been turned into a PR nightmare involving Facebook’s second largest page (after Barack Obama’s)
Coke has now turned this into an excellent example of why giving consumers control can be a good thing.
For Coke this now gives a new meaning to the old Coca-Cola slogan, “You Can’t Beat the Feeling“.
