‘Happiness’ drives another new business venture for Coca-Cola

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The notion of Happiness is something Coca-Cola has long been incorporating into its brand DNA. With an estimated brand equity of $72 billion, Coca-Cola has well and truly hit a soft spot with consumers. Now, the company is seeking to expand this joy into the realms of social media, through the launch of a new photo app, ‘Happy Places’. 

 The free mobile app is aimed at encouraged people to share their happy moments with friends.

“Your day, your friends, your trips, your music… your life is full of happy moments worth storing and sharing. 
Happy Places by Coca-Cola is that place where you can upload photos of your happy moments, share them, and remember them any time you want” - Coca-Cola

Users will be able to view and comment on friends’ pictures just as with the likes of Instagram. There is also the option to follow hashtags, such as #music #festivals and #dogslife. This will allow users to keep up to date with friends’ photos that fit prioritised "moments."

Versions of the Happy Places mobile app for both Android and Windows phone are currently not available for download, but the app is available for iOS users through the iTunes store, which was released on November 1^st 2012. The website www.happyplaces.com, registered in June, is currently still inactive.

The absence of Instagram-esque filters on Happy Places might mean it is at a disadvantage when compared to its competitors. There are circulating rumors that Twitter is launching their own photo filter, cementing the trend that customers want an artistic component offered in their photo apps. 

It will be interesting to see how far a global company such as Coca-Cola can push this app. The fact that the company has such an international presence means there is potential to reach out to a whole new audience that most photo-sharing services have never dreamed of. 

Once the website is launched, we will have more details on the service. For now, I don’t think that the Happy Place photo app will make as big a dent in social media as the likes of Instagram, as the service offering seems limited in comparison. In my opinion, the availability of editing options is the key to the success of photo apps. Everyone wants to an artist, to make a statement in ‘vintage fade’ or ‘colour shock’, and the likes of Instagram’s filters have made this possible at the touch of a button.

 

Sharon Donnelly - Marketing Advisor

Ms Halappanavar died at the Galway hospital on October 28th of septicemia seven days after she presented with back pain. She had been 17 weeks pregnant and her husband says she asked repeatedly for a termination over a three-day period but was refused, as there was a  heartbeat present.

The inquiry team has seven members. Its chairman, Prof Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, head of obstetrics and gynaecology at St George’s Hospital, University of London, said it was important to have representatives from Galway University Hospital on it to allow the panel to compare the guidelines in use there with the national and international guidelines.

The investigation into the death of Savita Halappanavar will now be “utterly independent’’ of Galway University Hospital, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said.

The husband of the late Savita Halappanavar wants employees of Galway University Hospital removed from the inquiry established by the Health Service Executive into her death.

Mr Higgins said the investigation into Ms Halappanavar’s death must ensure “above all else” that women will be safer and get the medical services during pregnancy to which they are entitled. He was responding to questions from local journalists during an official visit to Liverpool and Manchester.

The inquiry to come into the tragic death of the young Indian woman must meet “the needs of the public’s concern, the need of the family and meet the need of the State”.

The HSE  published the terms of reference of its inquiry and named three new members, two Irish and one from England, of the inquiry team. These replaced the Galway-based consultants who stepped aside in an unsuccessful attempt to meet the objections of Mr Halappanavar.

The report to be compiled by the team will not identify staff members involved in the treatment of Ms Halappanavar or any other names, according to the terms of reference.

The death sparked off a heated debate and protests in Ireland for a change in the country's abortion laws. Around 10,000 people marched through Dublin on November 18 during one such protest.

Niamh Cusack- Marketing Advisor 

Paddy Power Obama Campaign - An Intelligent Publicity Stunt or A Step Too Far?

The U.S. Presidential Campaigns of both Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have been the centrepiece of international news across the globe over the past few weeks. However, last week the spectacle came to an end as the American people took to the poll's to choose the next leader of their country. Although the U.S. polling day was set for the 6th November, Paddy Power were so sure of themselves and confident in the success of an Obama win that they declared they would begin paying out to all punters who backed Obama to win from Sunday the 4th of November.

A spokesman for Paddy Power explained how the company felt that Obama's win was a "nailed on certainty" making the possibility of losing the €500,000 associated cost of an Obama loss extremely irrelevant to the company:

Romney gave it a good shot and is doing well in the popular vote, but we suspect he’s had his moment in the sun and is likely to be remembered more for his legendary gaffes than Presidential potential.  

The overall betting trend has shown one-way traffic for Obama and punters seemed to have called it 100 per cent correct.  

Despite Romney appealing to the large evangelical and senior vote, America’s sticking with black and cool.

So this may all seem like a bit of harmless fun and an intelligent risk worth taking for the betting company that is known for its wild marketing and advertising campaigns. However, many have criticised the company for its print media campaign that was launched in support of the Obama payout:

The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland stated on Monday the 5th November that they would be launching a full investigation into the matter after receiving a public complaint in relation to the advert. Ken Robertson, a spokesman for Paddy Power defended the half-page advert stating the company did not create an ad that was meant to be racist or stereotypical. He added that in keeping with previous campaigns developed by the international company, it was "edgy, if not a little bit provocative but always funny".

So how would you rate the overall marketing campaign engaged by Paddy Power? Personally, I think its another example of the smart marketing that the company is consistently famed for using. It has caught international headlines across the world, has got people talking about the brand yet again and all for a feeble cost of a 1/2 page print advert in a local Irish newspaper. A single complaint to launch an investigation seems unrealistic, I might go as far as saying it may have been Paddy Power themselves who issued the complaint - more media attention, more hype - more brand awareness.

Overall the campaign has had one question resonating in my mind - what's next Paddy??

 Jennifer Beirne - Marketing Advisor