What happens when a vibrant city meets one of the world’s most iconic brands? For Paul Sheldon, Senior Creative at Golley Slater, the answer lay in transforming Manchester into a live canvas of creativity, technology, and innovation.
Tasked with hosting Coca-Cola Europacific Partners’ flagship event, the team reimagined how brands interact with space, people, and technology. From an immersive AR treasure hunt to bespoke venue branding, the project not only celebrated Manchester’s personality but also set a new standard for corporate events. Join us as we uncover the journey, the challenges, and the creative sparks behind this standout campaign.
What was the brief?
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) were looking to host an event on 12th June for over 100 delegates in the city of Manchester. Manchester was selected to be the blueprint for other events, demonstrating the vibrancy and personality of different districts of the city. Described as a ‘look of success’, our challenge was to create best in class points of sale for each of the selected venues.
We were asked to deliver an event to over 100 delegates, demonstrating the ‘look of success’ while navigating, educating and entertaining them throughout the day; creating competition and interactive participation.
How did the initial pitch/brainstorming phase go?
Usually, our briefing meetings start in the boardroom, but this briefing started on the streets of Manchester. Instantly the dynamic and scale of the project felt different and it deserved a different approach.
Although it contained a lot of physical points of sale at various venues, much of the ‘look of success’ meant understanding the requirements and character of each venue and pairing it with the right brand.
For example, Spinningfields Manchester’s financial centre) had a focus on Schweppes. The Northern Quarter was allocated to Coke Zero, with Euro branding for the outdoor viewing space and a giant mural we created. For Monster Energy, we opted for a niche gaming bar. In effect, the brands were tailored to the venues in a unique way.
What was the process behind ideating the concept?
We stayed close to the client throughout ideation so that we could keep a clear focus on the concept, with all its physical and digital touchpoints, locations and mechanics. The initial concepts we presented were a creative mix of city district mood boards, brand mood boards, audits from each venue and mechanics and activations, even down the to the final leave-behind and evening award ceremony.
As one of the creative leads on Coke, part of my role is focused around exploring innovation, and this project was the perfect combination of physical and digital. The idea of the AR treasure hunt became the perfect mechanic to connect the venues across the city.
What was the production process like?
Every meeting we had with the client was on the streets of Manchester, developing the routes; understanding each venue and the opportunities for each brand within them; and developing the questions and recceing the venues with GPS co-ordinates.
What was the biggest challenge during production? How did you overcome it?
The client asked us to have the 10 teams start at different locations and rotate the venue arrivals. After consulting with the Locatify (the GPS app we were using) developers, this feature didn’t exist yet! The solution was to duplicate the game 10 times and alter each route - which required a lot of testing and checking.
What kit/tools/software were used to create the project?
The POS and mural were created using the Adobe Creative Suite. The video content was created using After-effects. The interactive touchpoints, such as the AR face filters, were created in-house using Zapworks. The AR treasure hunt was developed using Locatify and Turf-hunt.
What is one funny or notable thing that happened during production?
One notable point our Account Director who led the project was pregnant. She was amazing at juggling the many meetings in Manchester, where we essentially walked the whole time.
Our step counts were always a talking point on the train back to the office!
One little funny Easter egg is that the animated 3D model of the footballer featuring on one of our AR filters is a studio member, but I won’t say who!
What’s the main message of this project and why does it matter?
The ‘look of success’ wasn’t just how brands appeared in each environment, but how we delivered the event and what the delegates took from the event. We wanted to make it memorable and a blueprint for future events – especially as it brought together one of the biggest brands in the world with such a proud and vibrant city.
How long did it take from inception to delivery?
The project took two months, from the first concept presentation in April to the event in June. The timescales were ambitious, especially as the project was a first of its kind for us.
Can you describe the creative spark or inspiration behind the initial concept? Was there a specific moment or insight that ignited the idea?
Walking the streets of Manchester with the client we understood their pride in the city, love for the brands and respect and knowledge of the venues they worked with. If there was a spark, it was knowing this warranted a very unique creative solution.
The vision certainly came to light from walking around Manchester: getting folk from A-B, guiding and entertaining and gamifying the event so everyone felt engaged, and even adding some competition between the teams with a scoreboard.
How did you ensure that the concept aligned with the brand's values, goals, and target audience?
Golley Slater has worked with the Coca-Cola for over ten years. We consider ourselves to be a trusted brand guardian for the client. Knowing each of the brands and how they fit with each venue was key to establishing the ‘look of success’.
Were there any alternative concepts or ideas considered during the ideation phase? If so, what led to the selection of the final concept?
Based on the client’s objectives of navigating, entertaining, and educating delegates at different locations around the whole city of Manchester, the treasure hunt concept was quickly considered to be the right direction. The question was how.
Initial concepts took two directions - one was more practical using dynamic QR codes, and the other was the GPS app. It required a lot of research to identify the right software to create the experience in the little time we had.
Can you discuss any collaborative or interdisciplinary aspects of the ideation process, such as working with other departments or external partners?
As a consumer-brands agency, working with printers is part of our day-to-day. Among the external partners we used was Mural Republic, for the giant Euros mural featured in the Northern Quarter, and software platform partners ZapWorks and Locatify, who are based in Iceland.
How did you ensure that the concept remained innovative and stood out in a crowded marketplace?
The project was ambitious in both scope and scale. It featured a combination of innovative approaches from the AR treasure hunt and filters, to engage and guide delegates around an unfamiliar city.
Even with a tight development window we didn’t compromise on the ambition of the project and what was possible. Our focus ultimately was to provide the opportunity for the our client’s field sales team to impress the Coca Cola European management teams and show off the city of Manchester as a vibrant progressive city they were proud of.
What do you hope it achieves for the brand?
The ‘look of success’ event is set to become the blueprint for these types of corporate events, demonstrating how brand personality can best fit within a variety of settings.
Credit list for the work?
Client
- Lee Evans – CCEP
- Sophie Nieto Hearn - CCEP
- Elena Chrysostomou - CCEP
The whole Golley team.
- Julie Lagarrigue
- Paul Sheldon
- Ciaran Marsh
- Mark Knight
- Rhianna Walker
- James Newton
- Daniel Thompson
- Matt Shaw
- Partner Support
