Coca-Cola, the world’s largest beverage company and arguably the world’s most visible brand, is pulling up stakes from its own virtual world, Coke Studios within MyCoke.com, and settling into a new “continent” within There.com, the company said Thursday.
The deal is a coup for There.com, a unit of San Mateo, California-based Makena Technologies, which has been promoting its virtual world as a haven for companies seeking to promote their brands. Coke’s entry to There.com comes in the wake of similar deals with the Scion brand of automaker Toyota and CosmoGirl, a periodical published by Hearst.
Susan Stribling, director of communications at Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, said the company was among the first to start its own virtual world as Cokemusic.com in January 2001, but There.com offered a full-blown three-dimensional world, whereas Coke Studios offered only a 2-D experience.
“We felt we needed a partner who had that technological expertise so we could focus more on the overall experience,” she said.
The move also will provide Coke with a new potential audience by letting anyone on There.com travel to the Coke bottle-shaped continent.
There.com competes against virtual worlds such as Second Life, whose corporate roster includes companies IBM, Adidas, and Reuters, which has a news bureau in the virtual world. Terms of the multiyear Coke deal, landed after There.com won a formal bidding competition, were not disclosed.
Michael Wilson, chief executive of There.com parent Makena Technologies, said loosely regulated virtual worlds can be frightful places for companies seeking to protect their brands.
“Lots of brands went into virtual worlds last year and this year and had a horrible experience,” he said. “Coke wanted a place that was aspirational and reflected the Coke side of life.”
There.com, which Mr. Wilson said seeks to maintain a “PG 13” atmosphere, did not disclose how many unique monthly visitors frequent its site, but said about 1 million members are enrolled. There.com also operates white label virtual worlds, such as MTV’s Laguna Beach and Virtual Pimp My Ride.
Makena, a 2005 spin-off of virtual-worlds creator Forterra Systems, is backed by Mr. Wilson’s venture capital firm, Chichen Itza Ventures, based in San Jose, California.
Ms. Stribling said Coke plans to integrate some of its offline sponsorships such as “American Idol,” the Olympics, and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament into its new virtual home, as well as promotions such as prizes from bottle cap codes.
Coke’s agreement with There.com makes it the world’s sole provider of nonalcoholic beverages. While Coke would be happy to share space with a hamburger chain like McDonald’s, Ms. Stribling said longtime rival Pepsi will have to look elsewhere.
“They’ll need to find their own virtual world,” she said.