Local pulse, global idea: Coca-Cola's recipe to resonating with young consumers

How do you keep an icon young? That's the enduring puzzle for legacy brands in a region as culturally rich and fast-evolving as ASEAN. Coca-Cola, with its 139-year-old heritage and unmistakable red label, isn't just trying to stay relevant - it's actively rewriting the playbook on how global brands can remain emotionally present in local lives. The secret? A precise blend of balance and intent.

Few people understand that equation better than Teejae Sonza (pictured), Coca-Cola's group marketing director for ASEAN and South Pacific (ASP). Speaking from the intersection of tradition and transformation, Sonza leads the charge across different terrains - from Manila's bustling streets to Bangkok's night markets - ensuring Coca-Cola does more than show up - it resonates.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE sat down with Sonza to explore how Coca-Cola is setting a new rhythm for regional marketing - tapping into neuroscience, youth culture, and street-level insights to connect with what she calls the "battery life generation" across ASEAN's diverse, always-online nations.

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Creating cultural anchors in ASEAN

Today's generation buys with intent. Shaped by crises and information overload, they're highly selective about where their attention and money go. "That presents in itself a challenge because you need to really be clear on what is unique and valuable about the proposition of your brand," Sonza said.

Across ASP, 170 million Gen Zs are coming of age - building friendships, forming first loves, and creating memories that will define them. But in a world where they're tech-empowered and constantly connected, Sonza believes it's all too easy to disconnect from life-shaping experiences.

Coca-Cola's campaigns across the region continue to push cultural relevance forward by turning everyday occasions into memorable brand experiences. One such initiative is Foodmarks, a programme that celebrates local culinary gems unique to each market. Having taken root in Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines, Foodmarks is now scaling to 80 cities across ASP by year-end.

Equally notable is the Coke Time campaign, which Sonza describes as a strategic attempt to meet young consumers where they are - mid-scroll and often mentally fatigued. "Trends don't last for months anymore - they last for days. It's easy to check out and miss the moments that matter," she explained.

To counter this, Coca-Cola is working to define midday as "Coke Time" - a moment for a refreshing reset that can help people feel recharged and reconnected. First launched in Vietnam and now poised for regional expansion, the campaign taps into influencer partnerships, retail collaborations, and traditional store integrations to cement the ritual in consumers' daily routines. Coke Time transforms a fleeting moment into a consistent, brand-owned experience - fuelled by both neuroscience and pop culture.

In the Philippines, one of the most compelling initiatives in Coca-Cola's pipeline is the return of Coke Studio - now entering its ninth season. Known for blending emerging music talent with mainstream artistry, the programme has become a cultural staple in the country's entertainment calendar. But this year, the ambition is higher, integrating neuroscience and behavioural insights directly into the song creation process.

Beyond Coke Studio, Coca-Cola is also preparing its "most uplifting Christmas" campaign yet, along with a similarly resonant Lunar New Year initiative. These festive milestones serve dual purposes: maintaining Coca-Cola's emotional presence during peak moments of joy, while reinforcing the brand's long-standing association with celebration. "We understand the power of our brand's timeless appeal - especially during moments such as Christmas or Lunar New Year, which are about bringing people together," Sonza noted.

Balancing timelessness with timeliness: The art of staying relevant

At the heart of Coca-Cola's brand strategy is a deliberate duality - what Sonza calls being both "timeless and timely." As Coca-Cola celebrated its 139th anniversary, the challenge remains how to keep a heritage brand feeling fresh for a generation raised on trends that change so quickly.

According to Sonza, it starts with knowing the consumer deeply. Coca-Cola invests a lot in understanding its consumers - not just through data, but through dialogue, she said. That means conversations with local shapers, regular engagement with platforms such as TikTok and Meta, and partnerships with Grab to tap into real-time behaviour. These insights then shape not only product innovations, but also influence marketing partnerships and the overall creative mix.

Importantly, Coca-Cola allows room for experimentation. The brand's agile regional model enables cross-market learnings: what didn't work in Thailand is scrapped; what succeeded in Vietnam is adapted quickly for the Philippines. Initiatives such as Magic Weekends - Coca-Cola's foray into activating food service aggregators (FSAs) - have since evolved into a core marketing strategy.

"This is one of those campaigns where we leverage heavily on digital and social and also influencers to encourage people to discover new food pairings on FSAs with Coke," Sonza said.

With rising Thai actor Win Metawin, Coca-Cola found a natural fit - his regional appeal made him the ideal face for the Magic Weekends campaign, which successfully boosted at-home consumption across ASEAN.

Being timely means more than speed - it means relevance. As more consumers seek healthier drink options, Coca-Cola offers Coke Zero, the sugar-free and calorie-free versions of the iconic Classic, delivering the same great taste with none of the compromise.

"Our aim is always that we want to be a trusted forward thinking brand that delivers great tasting products that refresh and uplift our consumers and we want to do it responsibly," Sonza said. "We make sure that every choice delivers a great experience in terms of taste and refreshment."

But experimentation is always guided by purpose. In a region flooded with fleeting trends and hyper-targeted content, Sonza believes that what separates Coca-Cola is discipline - knowing when not to act.

This brand clarity acts as Coca-Cola's compass, guiding everything from campaign decisions to talent partnerships. "It's always important to understand what your brand is about and what it stands for and use that as a guiding tool to determine what you get into and what you don't. And sometimes it means saying no to some of the cool things," she added.

That long game is rooted in what the brand calls "real magic" - the shared moments that bring people together and make the ordinary extraordinary. Whether through a bottle cracked open at a street corner, a song from a rising Filipino artist, or a halftime ad during the English Premier League (EPL), Coca-Cola's goal is to create the moments people remember.

Creator partnerships driving regional success

Coca-Cola's Share a Coke campaign may be global in its reach, but its success across ASEAN lies in localisation. While the core idea taps into a universal desire among young people to forge real-world connections in an increasingly digital world, execution depends on cultural nuance - from incorporating beloved local nicknames on packaging to engaging regional influencers who resonate with youth.

In the Philippines, the campaign teamed up with girl group BINI, whose authentic friendship and cultural relevance made them the ideal storytellers for the brand's message. Localisation extends beyond Share a Coke - campaigns such as Foodmarks reimagine Coca-Cola's timeless place in food culture by shifting focus from nostalgia to the present.

Rather than replicate global icons, the brand partners with creators such as Thai rapper F.HERO and Chef Pom to spotlight vibrant street food culture, or works with local celebrities and governments in the Philippines to celebrate everyday culinary landmarks. These efforts reflect a broader strategy: blending global creative with local insight, tone, and partnerships to remain relevant and relatable in each market.

As Coca-Cola looks ahead, its regional momentum is matched by global scale. A recent highlight was the brand's appointment as a global partner of the EPL - an alignment that reinforces Coca-Cola's stronghold in global sports marketing. With major football events on the horizon in 2026, Sonza hinted at more large-scale activations in the pipeline, though details remain under wraps.

Beyond the spotlight of entertainment and sports, Coca-Cola continues to pursue sustainability and human-centred innovation. These themes are becoming central not only to brand messaging but to product innovation and supply chain strategies across Southeast Asia.

"It's going to be an exciting next 12 months ahead," Sonza said.

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