Even before he starts speaking, Umut Ozaydinli has the air of a maverick. With a roguish grin and casual composure, he is not your typical global marketing suit.
The Turkish native is responsible for bridging the gap between Coca-Cola and the music industry. His role as global music marketing manager for the world’s biggest soft drinks brand is one he has effectively carved out for himself, having started out as a self-described “very untalented but passionate musician”.
He’s been balancing music with his career for a long time. While studying business administration at university, Ozaydinli envisaged becoming a DJ. “But my father hated the idea and it was not viable to continue,” he explains.
So he turned his attention behind-the-scenes, and began putting on concerts in his spare time. (His initial degree, accounting, never took off. “Creative accounting is a problem in some parts of the world, so I felt it would be very limiting.”)
Upon graduating he found himself as a brand manager at Coke with two burning ambitions: to travel the world and improve as a marketer. “My first question was ‘How soon can I have an international role?’” he recalls.
But it wasn’t long before he was putting his musical experience to good use. A 25-year-old Ozaydinli pioneered the ‘Rock’n Coke’ branded musical festival in Istanbul in 2001, generating 40 hours of TV coverage and several new revenue streams. “It was a unique business model that put me on the map for Coke,” he says, acknowledging that the company took a considerable risk entrusting him with its brand equity and millions of dollars. “We pushed the envelope together.”
By 2004, he had become music activation manager for Europe. He recounts “pimping” a train and hosting the media as they travelled the continent attending festivals - an initiative that catapulted him into his current position in Atlanta.
The home of Coke’s headquarters may not be the world’s most exciting city, but the job is a dream ticket for Ozaydinli. And one Asian agency executive who has worked with him notes that, however conservative Atlanta is, Ozaydinli can still be counted on to “push the boundaries” within the Coca-Cola Plaza.
His focus for the past year has been taking Coke’s ‘Open happiness’ musical collaboration with music artists, a venture the brand has pursued with Warner Music. In Asia, the campaign has so far drawn on the talents of celebrities such as Joey Young in Hong Kong, Derrick Hoh and Jocie Guo in Singapore, and Wong Leehom in China to produce pop songs (the lyrics and videos contained varying amounts of brand-related material depending on the market). These form the backing to TV commercials and other promotional elements. Ozaydinli says the tracks reflect the ability of brands to create value beyond “simply being a revenue stream”, and to create meaningful consumer interaction by offering entertainment.
He views the arrangement as beneficial to all parties: Coke is promoted in a new space, and the artists are presented to new audiences. And a “significant amount” of the proceeds are funnelled into Coke’s ‘Live positively’ cause-related marketing platform.
“Traditionally, when you look at big collaborations, you need a big disaster,” says Ozaydinli. “You need planes crashing into buildings, or Aids in Africa. But we felt we didn’t need a bad reason to have a great collaboration.”
He adds that Coke’s music marketing strategy is “pretty flexible”. “Whenever it makes sense, we use music as a means to enhance our campaigns.” But he notes that celebrity endorsement continues to play a bigger role for brands in Asia than in Western markets.
Coca-Cola says it is still evaluating the campaign. The tracks became top 40 hits, and the Chinese single spent some time at the top of the Chinese charts, but there are no other figures to indicate whether or not they succeeded in their goals. Ozaydinli is reluctant to label it a success. However, his optimism is palpable as he claims that the difficulties brought on by the downturn have helped both brands and music industry executives “evolve their thinking” and form a better working relationship.
“I don’t think there is one way to measure success. I would say we have had a brave start, with promising initial signs. But we are just warming up.”
Umut Ozaydinli’s CV
2006 Global music marketing manager, worldwide sports and entertainment marketing, Coca-Cola
2004 Music activation manager, Coca-Cola European Union Group
2000 Brand manager, Coca-Cola Eurasia and Middle East
This article was originally published in 5 November 2009 issue of Media.
The Turkish native is responsible for bridging the gap between Coca-Cola and the music industry. His role as global music marketing manager for the world’s biggest soft drinks brand is one he has effectively carved out for himself, having started out as a self-described “very untalented but passionate musician”.
He’s been balancing music with his career for a long time. While studying business administration at university, Ozaydinli envisaged becoming a DJ. “But my father hated the idea and it was not viable to continue,” he explains.
So he turned his attention behind-the-scenes, and began putting on concerts in his spare time. (His initial degree, accounting, never took off. “Creative accounting is a problem in some parts of the world, so I felt it would be very limiting.”)
Upon graduating he found himself as a brand manager at Coke with two burning ambitions: to travel the world and improve as a marketer. “My first question was ‘How soon can I have an international role?’” he recalls.
But it wasn’t long before he was putting his musical experience to good use. A 25-year-old Ozaydinli pioneered the ‘Rock’n Coke’ branded musical festival in Istanbul in 2001, generating 40 hours of TV coverage and several new revenue streams. “It was a unique business model that put me on the map for Coke,” he says, acknowledging that the company took a considerable risk entrusting him with its brand equity and millions of dollars. “We pushed the envelope together.”
By 2004, he had become music activation manager for Europe. He recounts “pimping” a train and hosting the media as they travelled the continent attending festivals - an initiative that catapulted him into his current position in Atlanta.
The home of Coke’s headquarters may not be the world’s most exciting city, but the job is a dream ticket for Ozaydinli. And one Asian agency executive who has worked with him notes that, however conservative Atlanta is, Ozaydinli can still be counted on to “push the boundaries” within the Coca-Cola Plaza.
His focus for the past year has been taking Coke’s ‘Open happiness’ musical collaboration with music artists, a venture the brand has pursued with Warner Music. In Asia, the campaign has so far drawn on the talents of celebrities such as Joey Young in Hong Kong, Derrick Hoh and Jocie Guo in Singapore, and Wong Leehom in China to produce pop songs (the lyrics and videos contained varying amounts of brand-related material depending on the market). These form the backing to TV commercials and other promotional elements. Ozaydinli says the tracks reflect the ability of brands to create value beyond “simply being a revenue stream”, and to create meaningful consumer interaction by offering entertainment.
He views the arrangement as beneficial to all parties: Coke is promoted in a new space, and the artists are presented to new audiences. And a “significant amount” of the proceeds are funnelled into Coke’s ‘Live positively’ cause-related marketing platform.
“Traditionally, when you look at big collaborations, you need a big disaster,” says Ozaydinli. “You need planes crashing into buildings, or Aids in Africa. But we felt we didn’t need a bad reason to have a great collaboration.”
He adds that Coke’s music marketing strategy is “pretty flexible”. “Whenever it makes sense, we use music as a means to enhance our campaigns.” But he notes that celebrity endorsement continues to play a bigger role for brands in Asia than in Western markets.
Coca-Cola says it is still evaluating the campaign. The tracks became top 40 hits, and the Chinese single spent some time at the top of the Chinese charts, but there are no other figures to indicate whether or not they succeeded in their goals. Ozaydinli is reluctant to label it a success. However, his optimism is palpable as he claims that the difficulties brought on by the downturn have helped both brands and music industry executives “evolve their thinking” and form a better working relationship.
“I don’t think there is one way to measure success. I would say we have had a brave start, with promising initial signs. But we are just warming up.”
Umut Ozaydinli’s CV
2006 Global music marketing manager, worldwide sports and entertainment marketing, Coca-Cola
2004 Music activation manager, Coca-Cola European Union Group
2000 Brand manager, Coca-Cola Eurasia and Middle East
This article was originally published in 5 November 2009 issue of Media.
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