Coca-Cola Set To Open Cell-Based “Virtual Teenage Hangout”
by Russell Shaw
Coca-Cola is set to release what is being called a cell-phone network “virtual teenage hangout.”
Sprite Yard, as the project will be called, will be released on Web-ready phones June 22. It is said to resemble MySpace and Facebook, but will be tailored to mobile handsets.
It sounds like mobile messaging will be a key part of the feature set, along with member profiles, photos and the ability to meet new friends. As to specific features, we’ll know more in coming days.
Don’t think that Coca-Cola is undertaking this initiative out of largesse. The service will be under Coca-Cola’s Sprite brand, which is known to be popular with teenagers. There will be Sprite promotions, such as free music and video clips to visitors who type in a PIN number indicated under Sprite bottle lids.
“The Coca-Cola Company needs to continue to recruit future generations of consumers,” Coca-Cola senior vice president of marketing said in a statement. “Mobile marketing is absolutely where it’s at for us going forward.”
