Emmanuel Seuge
VP of Global Alliances and Ventures
Joe Belliotti
Director of Global Music Marketing, Coca-Cola
Global thinkers who see Spotify as a World Cup of music
Though Coca-Cola’s power as a global force in music continues to grow with deeply integrated sponsorships of the Olympics and the World Cup, in North America, Coke had a relatively quiet year beyond its ongoing relationship with “American Idol,” and Diet Coke’s new pact with Taylor Swift.
But Emmanuel Seuge, who this past year became Coke’s new VP of global alliances and ventures, is overseeing a tech-venture strategy that has included investments in Spotify, music-licensing company Music Dealers and Troy Carter’s social hub Backplane. “This year was a defining year to find a way to work with those products, and for those relationships to work for a big corporation like us requires a lot of time, attention and flexibility,” he says. “I have a ton more ambition with Spotify, and we want to make it the FIFA World Cup of music.”
The 2014 World Cup will indeed be a driving force for Coke’s 2014 music strategy, featuring localized versions of the Brazilian-themed anthem “The World Is Ours” from artists like Carlos Vives and “X Factor” finalist David Correy. Coke’s investment in Music Dealers, which has already poured $3 million into 150-plus projects with emerging artists since 2011, will also be a priority. “We’ve helped them open offices in Mexico City, London and L.A.,” director of global music marketing Joe Belliotti says. “It’s a great opportunity for Coke to help independent artists, and to have a longer-term growth plan for next year.”
Seuge also hopes to apply Coke’s newly nimble structure as a marketer to more individual artist partnerships. “We’ve got to continue to push Coca-Cola as a brand that the music industry and artists want to work with and create something special they can’t do anywhere else,” he says.