Coca Cola: The Real Thing in a Virtual World

Coca Cola was one of the first companies to get involved in virtual worlds and among very few that seem to have done it right.
In 2002. they launched their own promotional mini virtual world, Coke Studios, at music site MyCoke.com. It was targeted at teens and young adults, enabling them to create their own music mixes in a virtual music studio. Coke Studio avatars were called V-egos, and they had the possibility to socialize in public rooms based on international cities and communicate through an in-world messenger.
Last year, Coca Cola launched a contest for Second Life residents and the general population to design a virtual vending machine that dispenses an experience rather than a can or bottle of Coke, through its “Virtual Thirst” competition. They wanted people to create a portable device for Second Life’s “in-world” digital society that “unleashes a refreshing and attention-grabbing experience, on demand”.
Unlike some companies, Coca Cola didn’t make the mistake of just jumping into SL without considering the needs and expectations of the residents. They started by assembling a virtual advisory board consisted of Second Life residents and designers and collecting feedback on the competition concept.
Michael Donnelly, Coca Cole’s Director of Global Interactive Marketing described this approach to SL community:

“We have been careful to seek the opinion of the Second Life community before bringing it a new experience. Our approach has been to create a program that enhances this exciting virtual environment. We plan to continue conversing with residents throughout this process. “
Instead of just creating an island in SL and waiting for residents to stumble upon it, this creative approach enabled people to express their creativity and communicate the values connected to the brand."

Recently, Coca Cola replaced Coke Studios with CC Metro - a Coke bottle-shaped continent in the virtual realm of There.com. The reason behind it was to create a richer, more lifelike experience for the residents. There.com is a small virtual environment in comparison to SL, but its major advantage is tighter control over intellectual property and resident behaviour (adult content, for example)
Although you can’t beat the real thing, Coca Cola was pretty successful in transferring the values connected to its brand to virtual realities.