Coca-Cola Canada is breaking new ground with a consumer-focused strategy that has increased its agency roster at a time when many major advertisers are consolidating.

This made-in-Canada approach to the soft drink market began with the restructuring of the company in 1993, coupled with a new strategy to have all parts of the business consumer-driven.

For Coke’s marketing department, this meant a shift away from brand management and the development of lifestage management.

The company has identified four lifestage groups, three that it has concentrated on since 1993, and a fourth, which is in development now.

Each lifestage is handled by a different agency.

The youth group defined as those between 12 and 19 years of age is the responsibility of MacLaren McCann of Toronto.

Leo Burnett has young adults, those between 20 and 34, and the Fruitopia brand fruit beverage.

The adult market, ages 35 to 59, which is split into two groups – the user and purchaser – is handled by Cossette Communication-Marketing.

Chris Jordan, director of marketing for Coca-Cola, says the agency for the fourth lifestage, mature adults, will be named in early April.

Jordan declines to reveal how the agency will be selected, but he does say it will not involve an agency review.

‘We’re actually going against the trend for most companies, not deliberately, but to address our needs,’ he says.

‘Most companies are consolidating, and we’re going the opposite way.

‘In our case, we are managing our relationships today with multiple agencies more effectively and efficiently versus where we were with one in the past.

‘We have also found we are getting a better product from the agencies by keeping them focused.’

Coca-Cola’s change to focus on the consumer also affected the way the company allotted its advertising budget.

Media spending went down from $22.8 million in 1993 to $11.9 million in 1994, according to A.C. Nielsen.

‘We instilled an operating tenet that the whole issue is to start at point-of-purchase and work out from there,’ Jordan says.

‘We differentiate and add value to our core products, packages and communication material, which could either be at point-of-sale, or an ad,’ he says.

‘We do less advertising, there’s no question, but what we do is better, more strategically focused, with more concise messages focused on driving purchase intent.’

Each of the Coca-Cola agencies works with a portfolio of brands, some overlapping, that are most relevant to the needs of each lifestage.

From Coke’s roster of 10 brands this could include Coca-Cola Classic, Sprite and POWERaDE non-carbonated sports drink for the youth market and Diet Coke, Fruitopia and Nestea brands for the young adult group.

The adult segment could include all of the above, in addition to Caffeine Free Diet Coke, Diet Sprite, Fresca, and Minute Maid.

Where 10 brands and three agencies might seem a logistical nightmare to some, Jordan says the system has actually simplified the process.

‘Our agencies are aligned with us based on the expertise and consumer insight they can bring to enhance our consumer lifestage proposition,’ he says.

‘They are responsible for one thing only, and that is to make the best advertising possible to communicate the brand’s attributes and benefits to the targeted lifestage.

‘We’ve made their life very simple, very focused, and they like it.’

One of Coke’s agencies, MacLaren McCann, has found the system so effective it has restructured the agency around it.

Six lifestage clusters have been set up based broadly on age, although there are some psychographic elements as well.

Each cluster is centred around a meeting room decorated to type, with the children’s segment, for example, anchored by The Playroom, which is furnished with kindergarten furniture and toys.

Says Tony Miller, MacLaren McCann chairman and chief executive officer:

‘The intent is to remind us all that our success on behalf of clients is understanding what’s taking place in each of these particular clusters.

‘By connecting to these different stages of life, we get the kind of insight that results in good brand positioning and relevant communications,’ Miller says.