Coca-Cola Maintains Its Marketing Efforts By Teaming Up With Japanese Rockstar Yoshiki

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Coca-Cola
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The Coca-Cola Company has been a leader in the beverage industry for 130 years. During the company’s lifetime, Coca-Cola has expanded its business, acquired hundreds of brands, and now operates in more than 200 countries. Even though Coca-Cola is known for its carbonated beverages, the company has learned how to reduce its dependence on its products. Instead, Coca-Cola has been increasing its investments in innovation and marketing. We have seen the company partner with celebrities like LeBron James and Courtney Cox, in addition to sponsoring major global events, such as UEFA’s Euro 2020 tournament. 

Keeping It Relevant

Coca-Cola’s marketing efforts have been successful because the company targets popular culture. That is why the company’s recent news of working with the popular Japanese musician Yoshiki comes as no surprise. Japanese culture has made its way to North America not just through music but also television shows like Alice in Borderland.

With over 128 million speakers around the world, Japanese is also widely spoken in the United States since there are many immigrant communities in the country. It’s common for first-generation Japanese-Americans to learn Japanese at a young age with the focus being on understanding the alphabet and practicing grammar at first before moving on to more complicated aspects.

Japan’s Yoshiki is one of the most influential and respected composers and musicians in Japanese history. He is best known for leading the rock band X Japan and for his solo career, where he collaborated with several artists, including Jennifer Hudson, George Martin, and Nicole Scherzinger. Yoshiki also composed the theme song for the 69th Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California (hosted by English comedian Ricky Gervais) and the soundtrack for the 2007 horror film Saw IV.

Even though Yoshiki has been active since the 1980s, his popularity and relevance remain in East Asia and North America. His popularity in the United States even saw the musician perform at Coachella Music Festival and Madison Square Garden.

Coca-Cola first teased their partnership with Yoshiki on YouTube, where the musician sported Coca-Cola’s brand colours and discussed his excitement and optimism about the project. Yoshiki says to the camera: “I think we’re creating amazing art. I’m now more confident than ever.” 

The company made the official announcement on May 9, 2022. Yoshiki’s project with Coca-Cola comes shortly after he disclosed his partnership with Nippon TV, one of Japan’s largest television networks, to create a new music competition series. The series will be called Yoshiki Superstar Project X and will focus on finding and developing the next iconic group.

Potential Influence

Companies that expand into new countries need to appeal to the local audiences. We see multinational companies like Mcdonald’s having different menus in different countries. For instance, McDonald’s in India offers a Chicken Maharaja burger, which is a staple in Indian culture. The Coca-Cola Company has to operate in a similar manner, and working with Yoshiki will improve the company’s overall standing in the Japanese market, which it first entered in the late 1950s.

Yet, because Japanese culture has become so popular in North America, much like other East Asian cultures through shows like Squid Game, the Coca-Cola x Yoshiki partnership will intrigue many consumers in the Western World.

The Coca-Cola Company is one of the largest companies in the United States; the company’s stock is found on the S&P 500 index and the S&P 100. Coca-Cola also has influence and a dominating presence in hundreds of countries across the world. Even though much of the company’s success comes from its different brand products, it has also been because of Coca-Cola’s marketing efforts. Coca-Cola’s recent project with Yoshiki demonstrates that marketing and innovation are still important contributors to the company’s business model in 2022.