Launching of Virtual Thirst

News Facts

• Coca-Cola’s “Virtual Thirst” competition closed for new entries on May 25, 2007.
• Entries will be judged by the Advisory Panel that guided Coca-Cola during the development and execution of the competition. Advisory Panel members are all Second Life residents.
• Judges will be evaluating entries on the basis of the following criteria: creativity (20%), cultural fit within Second Life (20%), consistency with the Coca-Cola brand (20%), potential value to Second Life residents (20%), and technical feasibility (20%).
• The ultimate winner will be selected from among five finalists.
• The date the winner will be announced will be determined soon.
• The prizes include 500,000 Linden dollars (the currency of Second Life) and a trip for two to San Francisco to participate with Second Life design company Millions of Us in the transformation of the winning design into a Second Life-ready vending machine.
• The Virtual Thirst competition invited anyone to create a virtual vending machine that unleashed a refreshing and attention-grabbing experience, on demand.
• Consumers were invited enter the Virtual Thirst vending machine competition, even if they were not currently residents of Second Life.
• The competition kicked off with two launch events at the Coca-Cola Pavilion on crayonville Island in Second Life. The Pavilion also was host to several music-oriented events during the competition.

Quotes> Attributed to Michael Donnelly, Director, Global Interactive Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company

• We are thrilled with both the number and quality of designs submitted in the competition. A lot of people obviously gave some serious thought to what the Coca-Cola experience is all about and how that could be conveyed in the world of Second Life, where the laws of physics don’t apply.
• So far, I’d have to say that we have learned a lot about how to engage with communities in the virtual and social media worlds. A lot was written about Virtual Thirst in the blogosphere, and we listened carefully as well as participated in the conversation. In fact, it was listening to the community that led us to upload a video to YouTube that answered some criticisms and agreed with others. We even added to the prize based on what we heard the community telling us.

About The Coca-Cola Company

The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world’s top five nonalcoholic sparkling brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light beverages, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees, energy and sports drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate exceeding 1.4 billion servings each day. For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at www.thecoca-colacompany.com. About the Coke Side of Life “The Coke Side of Life,” the global marketing platform for brand Coca-Cola, is based on the simple idea that drinking a Coke tastes good and makes people happy. The theme is an invitation to live on the positive side of life. For more information, visit www.thecoca-colacompany.com/presscenter/presskit_CSOL.html

Contact Info

The Coca-Cola Company: Petro Kacur The Coca-Cola Company Phone: +1 404-676-3127 Email: petkacur@na.ko.com Website: www.thecoca-colacompany.com crayon: Shel Holtz crayon Phone: +1 415 367 3120 Phone (mobile): +1 925 864 2249 Email: shel@crayonville.com Website: www.crayonville.com

Multimedia

• Download / Photo: Michael Donnelly, Director, Global Interactive Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company (Coming Soon)
• Download / Image: “Virtual Thirst” prototype (“Virtual Thirst” images are available for viewing via a YouTube embed at at www.virtualthirst.com)
• Launch Event Photos: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=virtualthirst&m;=tags&z;=t
• YouTube home for all Virtual Thirst videos and Video Diaries: http://www.youtube.com/virtualthirst
• MP3 interview with Advisory Panel member/judge The Diva Rockin: http://media.libsyn.com/media/crayoncast/coke-vt-podcast-diva.mp3
• MP3 interview with Advisory Panel member/judge Chris Hambly: http://media.libsyn.com/media/crayoncast/coke-vt-podcast-hambly.mp3

Related Links

• del.icio.us page for more information: http://del.icio.us/virtualthirst
• Subscribe to del.icio.us Virtual Thirst RSS feed for on-going coverage, industry news and reaction: http://del.icio.us/rss/virtualthirst
• Add press release to your del.icio.us account: http://del.icio.us/post?http://www.virtualthirst.com/XXXXXXX
• Technorati Tags: Virtual Thirst virtualthirst Coca-Cola Coke Second Life experience