Cody Simpson plays a pop-up concert on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro. Coke Music livestreamed the show via Periscope.

“This year is a tipping point for livestreaming,” says Yuri Pereira, Coke Music manager, referring to a key part of his team’s social media strategy to gives fans exclusive access to unique music moments. 

Streaming from both Periscope and Facebook Live, Coke Music has hosted more than 20 livestreams with six artists. “We’re getting incredible reception from fans. People are excited that we're giving them a unique vantage point into new music,” Pereira explains. 

Coke Music's social channels already offer exclusive opportunities for fans to discover music and interact with artists. They also give artists a platform to bring new music to fans around the world. 

Earlier this year, Pereira and team launched Coke Music’s Periscope channel with an intimate performance by High Dive Heart broadcast from the husband-and-wife duo's living room. In a matter of hours, it was the top trending Periscope in the world. Following this initial success, Coke Music and High Dive Heart decided to team for a weekly livestream series. 


High Dive Heart's Nelly Joy and Jason Reeves use livestreaming to invite fans into their home for candid conversations, acoustic performances and even new song releases.

“Our main goal is to spread love and change lives but in order to do that, we want to get this music out to the masses,” Nelly Joy says.

She and her husband, Jason, model their success on fan engagement. And they're able to connect with fans on a deeper level via their Coke Music livestreams.

The Coca-Cola brand recognition gives artists like High Dive Heart, Anjunabeats, Blue October and Latium Music artists MAGIC! and Sammy Arriaga, an inherently large platform to share their work. 

This builds on Coke Music's strategy to create platforms where fans can listen to new tunes (via the brand's Spotify page) and talk about music and watch live performances (@CokeMusic on Twitter and Periscope).

“It’s a great social content loop that generates positive value for the fans, the artists and our brands,” said Pereira.  


Delivery is in the Details

But what’s truly unique about the Coke Music social media presence is its ability to engage with fans in real time. It’s no surprise that Coke Music works with a vast portfolio of artists. But it’s not just about who they’re livestreaming, it’s how their bringing these initmate experies to fans. “What we want to do is provide a one-to-one access between the fan and the artist over an ice-cold Coca-Cola.” 


There’s no better example of this exclusivity than an impromptu concert in April from singer/songwriter Cody Simpson on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana Beach. Simpson, who was in Rio for a Coca-Cola Rio 2016 Olympic Games social media summit, wanted to surprise his Brazilian fans with an acoustic pop-up concert. The only heads up: a simple tweet.


 

Fans flocked to hear his soulful voice and of course, snap a selfie or two. Coca-Cola livestreamed the entire experience via Periscope on Twitter (@CokeMusic). “Cody had a chair and a guitar on the beach and played for about an hour, and we livestreamed the whole thing,” said Pereira. “It was awesome. He was wearing a Coke shirt and had a Coca-Cola glass bottle next to him as he played. Fans loved it. We loved it.”

While dozens of swooning fans packed together on the beach like sardines to watch the Australian star perform, thousands more around the world tuned in online. Simpson even took song requests from Periscope viewers. 

“Video content, live streaming, virtual reality and augmented reality are the future," says Joe Belliotti, head of Coca-Cola Music. "There are 150,000 live broadcasts a day on YouNow alone. More than 70 percent of the viewers are between 13 and 24 years old. We act on these trends and are constantly evolving and iterating our experiences.”

Follow @CokeMusic on Twitter for the latest Coca-Cola Music updates, livestreams, Spotify playlists and more!