I covered over 12 brands in 3 European regions, during a two year cycle of promotions and activations. The brands that were under CCHBC umbrella are : Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Nestea, Schweppes, Burn, Ultra (energy), Rosa (water), NeXt (juices), Jack Daniels, Famous Grouse, Heineken, Absolut Vodka...
Apart from all the materials needed for Trade Marketing purposes, I also participated in the development of all impressive displays, innovative solutions and expo booths.
Aligning Marketing and Sales department is never an easy task. As a lead designer, that task fell onto me. Constant communications, tune ups, changes, and other external influences contribute to the challenges of that task. However, it is to be expected. After all, Coca-Cola is a No. 1 brand, so that is to be expected.
“Coca-Cola is an American icon.” – John Quelch
There is not one solution, but many. I adapted to the fast pace, kept all the info from style-guides and brand in my head, kept researching, asking questions, repeating questions, and kindly asking shareholders when noone could help. That enabled me to work on some larger scale projects, such as the yearly business plan, first for Serbia, then for the whole European market. High stakes, but also high gain - the experience and knowledge I gained is priceless.
Brand Guardian sounds almost super-heroic, but that was the unofficial title I was given - as other colleagues always counted on me to know how to use brand assets, to share the best practices from the world, or just to make the logo as big as the brand guidelines allow.
I will remember my time there with joy. Sure it was filled with sweat, but having had the opportunity to work in a corporate setting, for the No. 1 Brand in the world, collaborating with masters in marketing (and many other areas) - this was a priceless experience, through which I improved both my design and communication/soft skills.
