14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, Coca-Cola's music download service was closed down, and Mycokemusic was no more. Now it seems like the soft drink company is looking to replace the functionality of Mycokemusic with that of the iTunes Music Store.
"Coca-Cola is to team up with Apple for a substantial iTunes promotional initiative as part of the launch strategy for its calorie-free Coke Zero brand," Nicola Clark reports for Brand Republic. This is similar to the deal Apple and Pepsi made in 2004, to distribute over 1 million songs through Apple's hit service, and will lead to Coca-Cola-sponsored content appearing on iTunes, as well as offer Coca-Cola consumers iTunes discounts.
Music has long been a way for competing companies to differentiate their products by associating them with certain artists, and the goal of this partnership is to help Coca-Cola keep its edge in the competitive European soft-drinks market. In the US, Coca-Cola already has its own branded music and entertainment website Stageside.tv, which is currently little more than just a pretty coming soon page.
Apple stands to gain a lot of exposure from this partnership and see a lot of people that have never stepped near iTunes, using it and the iTunes Music Store for the first time. This will only serve to cement their position as leaders in terms of both mind and market share.