AI STRATEGY
REAL MAGIC: COCA-COLA’ S AI-POWERED CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT
Create real magic – meet the artists
Coca-Cola’ s US $ 1.1bn investment with Microsoft, expanded from an initial US $ 250m agreement in 2020, positions AI at the centre of its digital transformation.
The“ Create Real Magic” holiday campaign exemplifies this change.
Using Azure AI Foundry and global speech services, Coca-Cola created a custom Santa model that conversed in real-time with over a million people in 26 languages across 43 markets – all launched within 60 days.
“ We wanted to create something never seen before while staying authentic to our heritage,” Pratik explains.
“ With Microsoft’ s support, we co-created tools to solve complex technical challenges like multilingual lip sync for Santa’ s avatar.”
The campaign allowed users to create personalised snow globes based on holiday memories they shared with Santa, demonstrating how AI can create emotional connections at scale.
Beyond marketing campaigns, Coca-Cola employs AI across operations in surprising ways.
The Freestyle touchscreen fountain – those machines that let you mix your own soft drink combinations – is now AI-enabled, collecting customer preference data that informs product innovation and marketing strategies.
Every flavour combination someone creates feeds into the system. The company analyses weather patterns, purchase history and social media engagement to deliver hyper-personalised campaigns.
aimagazine. com 81