Coca-Cola

–Authored by Laura Hausfeld

Our final company visit took place on our last full day together in Turkey.  After arriving back in Istanbul that morning, we headed directly from the airport to Coca-Cola.  We were greeted by Rengin Ornay and Melitsa Mizrahi (the coordinator of our visit). We settled in to a room that had bright red comfy seats and a spread of Coca-Cola brand beverages.

The Coca-Cola associates first presented us with some background about both the company and its operations in Turkey. A short video summarized Coca-Cola’s history: Coke was first served in 1886 as a fountain beverage and saw rapid growth following its 1899 bottling agreement. Interestingly, the exclusive right to bottle Coke was sold for $1 by owner Asa Griggs Candler, who believed bottled soda would not be successful. Today, Coca-Cola is one of the planet’s most recognizable brands which distributes its products in more than 200 countries through over 300 bottling partners.

Coca-Cola has had much success in Turkey, thanks in large part to its ability to tailor marketing to the regional culture while still maintaining the heart of the Coca-Cola brand. For example, we were shown a commercial which promotes Coca-Cola as a beverage to drink during Ramadan. Coca-Cola is also helping to bring about positive change in Turkey through its role in the “Life Plus” Youth Program. This program provides financial support and mentoring to people age 18 to 30 to help them complete projects designed to address environmental issues in the country.

Following the presentation we enjoyed an informal reception, referred to as a “coke-tail hour,” of snacks and a variety of Coke products.  At the end of our visit, each of us received a gift: a classic Coca-Cola glass bottle filled with tiny ‘evil eye’ beads.  A tag was enclosed which read: “Tradition has it that the ‘evil eye’symbol (Nazar Boncugu) was used by sailors to protect their successes against misfortune and bad faith when embracing a new adventure. We hope this gift will bring you luck and success in your endeavors.” The evil eye symbol is truly omnipresent throughout Turkey, and so this particular gift serves as a great reminder of both our visit to Coca-Cola as well as the whole trip.