Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup™ Trophy Tour, 2010 Enthralls The City of Kolkata
Registers a huge success in its First ever visit to India
(L to R): Mr Sailen Manna, Padmashree &Indian Football legend, Mr Samar Banerjee,Former Olympian, Mr P.K Banerjee Padmashree & Indian Football legend, Mr Lothar Mathhaus, German Soccer Legend & Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India at the unveil of the Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup Trophy in Kolkata today.
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Embarking on its world-wide journey, Coca-Cola FIFA World CupTM Trophy, 2010, was unveiled in Kolkata, India amidst many Football enthusiasts and eminent dignitaries on 15th January, 2010. The much awaited World Football's greatest prize brought to India for the first time was unveiled by Kanti Ganguly - Minister of Sports-West Bengal Govt., Lothar Mathhaus - German Football Legend, Subrata Dutta - Vice President, All India Football Federation (AIFF), Alberto Colaco - General Secretary, AIFF and General Secretary South Asian Football Federation, S.B Ganguly - President, Indian Football Association, LingLing Lui – FIFA, Media Spokesperson along with Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India. Also present were other eminent dignitaries including Saugata Roy - Minister of State, Urban Development, Government of India, Dr. Asim Dasgupta - Minister of Finance, West Bengal Govt, Kshiti Goswami - Minister of PWD, West Bengal Govt.and Pratim Chatterjee - Fire Services Minister, West Bengal Govt and other Football legends.
During the unveil ceremony Lothar Mathhaus - German Football Legend said, "I am very happy to be in the city of Kolkata, the heart of Indian Football. Holding the FIFA World CupTM Trophy reminds me of 1990, the year when I as captain of the World Cup winning German team had held this trophy. I am thankful to Coca-Cola and to FIFA to invite me and to again give me this opportunity."
As part of the celebrations, Jharkhand team, winner of Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, 2010 was also felicitated by Kanti Ganguly, Lothar Mathhaus along with Atul Singh. As part of the felicitation, each player of the Jharkhand team was awarded a cash prize of Rs 25000. In-addition, the Jharkhand Football Association was given a cash award of Rs 100,000.
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Speaking at the event, Atul Singh, President & CEO, Coca-Cola India said, "The Coca-Cola Company has been the official sponsor of the FIFA World CupTM since 1978. With the Coca-Cola FIFA World CupTM Trophy Tour, 2010 coming to the Mecca of Indian football-Kolkata, football enthusiasts across India get a chance to share their passion for the game of football together with their fellow countrymen. This once-in-a-lifetime experience aims to bring soccer fans here close to the world's most coveted prize, which has followers in every far-flung corner of the earth. We look forward to some power-packed soccer action this June at FIFA World CupTM in South Africa."
The event received a nationwide coverage and was covered by all the major English and Regional publications in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. In-addition, the FIFA World CupTM Trophy Tour was also covered by over 30 TV channels.
Later in the evening of 15th January '10, a special musical evening and a dinner was also organized for all the key stake holders in Kolkata which included franchise bottling partners, representatives from All India Football Association (AIFF), Indian Football Association (IFA), key customers etc. The singing sensation, Usha Uttup mesmerized the audience with her beautiful rendition of "I believe in FIFA and I believe in Coca-Cola." The evening also gave people present an exclusive opportunity to see the FIFA World CupTM Trophy and also meet Lothar Mathhaus in person.
Consumers Enjoy FIFA World CupTM Trophy in India as part of a Unique and Engaging Activation
The authentic FIFA World CupTM trophy made of solid, 18-carat gold being brought to India by Coca-Cola for the FIRST time provided a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the football enthusiasts across India to catch a glimpse of World Football's greatest prize.
The FIFA World CupTM Trophy was on display at Salt Lake stadium (world's second largest non-auto racing stadium) in Kolkata, the Mecca of Indian football, on 16th January, 2010 as part of a unique and breathtaking activation. Nearly 8600 people had a close look at the Trophy in Kolkata through the "Fan Experience" organized by Coca-Cola India. The exclusive showcase of the FIFA World CupTM Trophy at the Salt Lake Stadium on essayed the extraordinary journey of the world's greatest football spectacle. As part of the FIFA World Cup trophy tour activation, a strategic communication leveraging the passion of football was also rolled out under 'Coca-Cola Open Happiness' communication titled 'Borders'. The communication showcased the hilarious things that sometimes happen as the FIFA World CupTM Trophy makes its way around the globe.
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Jharkhand Team, Winner of Coca-Cola Mir Iqbal Hussain Trophy, 2009 along with Mr Kanti Ganguly - Minister of Sports, West Bengal Government, Mr Lothar Mathhaus, German Football legend, Mr Nikhil Nandi, Indian Olympian and Atul Singh ,President & CEO, Coca-Cola India at the unveil of the Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup Trophy in Kolkata. The Jharkhand team was congratulated by all the eminent dignitaries & got once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup Trophy. Coca-Cola India announced Rs 25,000 to be paid to each of the 20 players of the team and Rs 1 lakh to be awarded to Jharkhand Football Association
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One of the football enthusiasts at the salt stadium said, "This is indeed a memorable day for India and its people. The FIFA World Cup Trophy is one of the most-recognizable sports icons in the world and the dream of every person who ever kicked a football, regardless of their age. This is an extraordinary opportunity for a soccer fan like me here to actually view first-hand the priceless trophy that perhaps I have only heard about or seen on television. I thank Coca-Cola for this special visit enabling the entire nation to share the passion for football."
(L to R): Kanti Ganguly - Minister of Sports, West Bengal Governmen,Mr Pratim Chatterjee – Minister For Fire Services, West Bengal Government, Mr Kshiti Goswami - Minister of PWD, West Bengal Government, Mr Lothar Mathhaus, German Soccer Legend & Atul Singh, president & CEO, Coca-Cola India at the unveil of the Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup Trophy in Kolkata today.
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Football enthusiasts across all ages enjoyed a 3D movie on FIFA World Cup. Consumers got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have a first-hand look at the coveted FIFA World CupTM Trophy and also get themselves photographed with the trophy.
To add to the excitement, Lothar Mathhaus, German Football legend also met the Football enthusiasts at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata. At this event, Lothar displayed some of his football handling skills, leaving the crowd completely spell bound. As part of the celebrations Bondo, Goa's top percussionist also performed in the stadium and the crowd was kept engaged with lots of fun-filled activities organized at the stadium. The entire stadium was filled with Football zeal when the crowd danced to the tunes of 'Give me freedom, Give me Fire'. Football fans sported the flag of their favorite Football teams on their faces along with the logo of Coca-Cola while brandishing the special edition FIFA World Cup bottles to express their excitement. The consumers also got an opportunity to win other FIFA World Cup merchandise including key rings, T-shirts, Footballs, calendars etc. This special event was also attended by consumers from Nepal and the winning team of Coca-Cola Inter School Cup, organized every year in the country.
The third day of the trophy tour which was to culminate into an extravagant evening of music and entertainment featuring the singing sensation Usha Uttup, followed by performances from Chandrabindoo, a leading Bangla band and an electric concert by Euphoria, India's famous rock band was cancelled due to the sudden demise of Jyoti Basu, the former Chief Minister of West Bengal.
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Building up the excitement
The FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour organized for the first time in India is one of the large-scale initiatives for Brand Coca-Cola in the last two years. As part of Coca-Cola FIFA World CupTM activation program, range of initiatives were organized as a build up to the Trophy Tour in Kolkata, India. The initiatives organized to leverage the passion of football amongst the consumers in Kolkata also helped in gaining market share for Brand Coca-Cola. As part of the FIFA World Cup trophy tour activation, a strategic communication leveraging the passion of football was also rolled out under 'Coca-Cola Open Happiness' communication titled 'Borders' in the 3rd week of December '10 both on Television and radio.
The communication showcased the hilarious things that sometimes happen as the FIFA World CupTM Trophy makes its way around the globe. A range of Out-of-home (OOH) creatives were put up at over 90 sites around the city thereby building awareness around the FIFA World CupTM trophy tour. Over 500 outlets in the city were activated where consumers got an opportunity to win Coca-Cola FIFA World CupTM merchandise through a lucky draw on the purchase of Coca-Cola.
Special buses with Coca-Cola FIFA World CupTM Trophy insignia toured along the city of Kolkata. The consumers could enjoy watching FIFA football videos and celebration videos, play games and drink Coca-Cola along with an opportunity to win passes to the Trophy Tour. In-addition, road shows were also organized where consumers could participate and win passes to see the World's greatest football spectacle. The entire on-ground activation across the period of 25 days involved participation from 45 colleges, 20 schools, 500 diamond outlets, 100 top E&D outlets, and activation of 150 'paras' (neighborhood locations).
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