These achievements recognize the brand’s significant efforts over the past year, particularly the Coca-Cola Foodmarks initiative, which aims to strengthen the connection between the brand and local cuisine by promoting local eateries and celebrating Vietnam’s vibrant street food culture. 

The MMA Smarties Awards, organized by the Mobile Marketing Association (MMA), honors outstanding marketing strategies that use technology to engage consumers and elevate brand experiences. By celebrating exceptional campaigns, this award highlights brands that effectively combine creativity and technology. This victory reaffirms Coca-Cola's commitment to impactful marketing campaigns that engage communities through initiatives like Foodmarks. 

Coca-Cola Vietnam’s purpose-driven marketing strategy 

Launched in March 2024, Coca-Cola Foodmarks is a platform that promotes Vietnamese street food eateries by connecting Coca-Cola, local eateries, consumers, and young content creators. 

Participating eateries in Coca-Cola Foodmarks meet specific criteria: a diverse menu, high-quality dishes, hygienic serving space, attentive service, and inspiring culinary stories. These eateries appear on Coca-Cola's campaign microsite, where Coca-Cola recommends them to users based on geographical data. After visiting, users can rate their experience, while young content creators share stories and increase visibility for these eateries through engaging content. 

Coca-Cola Foodmarks operates through a multi-faceted approach:

Peer-to-Peer Reviews - Coca-Cola Foodmarks encourages users to rate their dining experiences, creating a genuine feedback environment for participating eateries on the campaign microsite. 

Community Engagement: The platform attracts a community of young content creators to produce captivating content on TikTok, each piece highlighting unique stories and specialty dishes of the eateries. 

Geo-Targeted Marketing Support: Coca-Cola Foodmarks enhances visibility for eateries through geo-targeted marketing within a 1km radius of users’ locations, allowing the platform to reach those looking for a meal during peak times like lunch or dinner. 

Strategic Partnership: Coca-Cola collaborates strategically with Grab, Vietnam’s leading super app. With a vast network of partner restaurants, Grab enhances online ordering and sales for local eateries. Grab also recommends key restaurants during peak times, optimizing reach and conversion for eateries. 

Since its launch, Coca-Cola Foodmarks has attracted over 5,200 participating locations, with 1,400 locations on Grab offering Coca-Cola combo packages and a 71% increase in online combo sales. Coca-Cola Foodmarks has garnered 1.1 million visits from 450,000 unique visitors, allowing users to share and review their dining experiences. This creates a lively online space where local cuisine flourishes. 

Mr. Le Trung Tin, Marketing Director of Coca-Cola Vietnam, shared the vision for Foodmarks: “At Coca-Cola, we challenge ourselves to create unique, impactful initiatives that only a brand like ours can bring to life, and Foodmarks is a shining example of that aspiration. Looking ahead, our goal is to evolve Foodmarks into the premier Gen-Z Choice Street Food Awards by 2025, celebrating the best street food outlets in Vietnam. This evolution will continue to be driven by the community—through content creators, authentic reviews, and a peer-driven voting system, ensuring that the recognition is truly deserved and aligns with local consumer tastes.” 

Coca-Cola wins big at the MMA 

Coca-Cola's outstanding performance at the 2024 MMA Smarties Vietnam Awards solidified its status as “Brand of the Year” and “Best in Show” through a combination of innovative campaigns and community-driven initiatives. In addition to recognition for the Coca-Cola Foodmarks program, the brand also won 10 awards across various categories: Gold – Brand Experience: Coca-Cola Foodmarks; Silver – Omnichannel Marketing: Coca-Cola Foodmarks; Silver – Cross Digital Media Marketing: Coca-Cola Foodmarks; Silver – Creator/Influencer/Celebrity Marketing: Nutriboost ; Bronze – Gaming, Gamification & E-Sports: Coca-Cola Tet 2024; Silver – Data Insights/Contextual Marketing: Coca-Cola Epic Summer; Silver – O2O/New Retail/Innovative & New Tech Sales Channels: Coca-Cola Foodmarks; Silver – Customer/User Experience & Design: Coca-Cola Ahhhraoke - Gamification; Bronze – Customer/User Experience & Design: Coca-Cola Tet 2024; Bronze – Personalization: Coca-Cola Foodmarks. 

This recognition not only affirms the success of Coca-Cola Foodmarks but also highlights the overall influence of the brand in the marketing field. These collective efforts reflect Coca-Cola's commitment to creative and meaningful marketing, while engaging consumers and promoting positive values.