‘Shine City’ featured a cohesive look and modern designs by an Atlanta illustrator for Coca-Cola, smartwater and Simply
Keeping a presenting sponsorship fresh after 31 years is challenging, but with comprehensive feedback analysis, and hyper-local inspiration, Coca-Cola ensures its presence at Essence Festival of Culture is never flat. This year, the brand revamped and grew its expo activation into “Shine City,” which brought three of its brands into one cohesive space at New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.
The team worked with Atlanta illustrator Shae Anthony to design elements for the booth that mixed modern whimsy with a retro ’90s and 2000s feel, and balanced them with the iconic color palettes of Coca-Cola, smartwater and Simply. The bright, unified visual identity, and their corresponding experiences, paid off. Coca-Cola hit new benchmarks and record-setting brand affinity scores.
“We do pre-testing, during testing and post-testing to help us understand if the concepts are landing, and then if they are, what’s the long-term impact on brand affinity scores, as well as purchase intent?” says Stephanie Eaddy, cultural marketing lead at Coca-Cola. “Everything right now is trending in the right direction.”
Coca-Cola Sisterhood Ave served as a “hub of connection, culture and celebration,” where attendees could sample beverages at the Soda Bar, pick up exclusive tote bags and collectible bottle charms, and watch performances from Destin Conrad, Normani, Coi Leray and Mario on the Coca-Cola Main Stage. Attendees also had their own time to shine by signing up for Coke Karaoke, with high-value prizes on the line.
Shine City Marketplace was a designated area for Black-owned businesses, entrepreneurs and community organizations to connect directly with festivalgoers. The Gathering Corner photo op transported attendees to a nostalgic, corner store-inspired setting featuring special-edition display cans.
The smartwater Social Club was a “quieter space where guests could pause, recharge and take a moment for themselves,” Eaddy says. Attendees could participate in intention-inspired floral arranging with Blucid Floral and join Club Cardio fitness sessions. Samples of smartwater were available for hydrating, and “members” of the Social Club were treated to exclusive giveaways and photo ops. A wall of mirrors invited attendees to reflect and “check in with yourself.”
“A lot of our programming is repeated, so if you miss something in the morning, you can come back in the afternoon and do something similar with a slightly different take,” she says. “We know people are moving through the convention center all day long, so we try to keep that in mind.”
Over at Simply House, the theme was hosting. Inside the pop-up summer home, attendees first encountered a foyer photo moment, and the collaborative “Hostess with the Mostess Wall” invited them to share their own hosting traditions and rituals on lemon-shaped notes. A hit with festivalgoers, TV personality Lellies Santiago led live hosting demonstrations and mocktail sessions, with Simply lemonades on tap.
It all ultimately reinforced the brand’s marketing message: “Shining Together.”
“One of the things that Coca-Cola took into consideration as we were thinking about how we wanted to show up this year, is that it demonstrates that there’s a lot of range, that Black culture is not homogenous, and that we are present in all things, from books and stories to film and music,” Eaddy says. “That allowed us to also have a dialog with festivalgoers that we’re not just Coca-Cola, we’re just as multifaceted as they are.” Agency: Team Epiphany.
Photo credits: Dorothy Hong; Ritchie King Jr.
