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ColaLife Pods – what the frontline thinks

27 November 2008 By 17 Comments

I have written so much about what has happened over the last two days but I have not quite finished or publshed anything yet (it will come). But the video below sums it all up. The context is as follows. Today I went out with Benito Xaverly, one of the Area Sales Manager for Dar Es Salaam. He’s a Business Administration graduate and until recently he worked for Pepsi. He had not heard of ColaLife before we got in the vehicle and started on our journey. We visited 7 of the 17 MDCs that he manages and I took the mock-up ColaLife Pods I made yesterday. Here they are in Coca-Cola crates. They fitted!

Here is the video. The first 1min 15secs is in Swahili as Benito explains the ColaLife idea to the people who work at the MDC. Then it breaks into English . . . . it’s very interesting what is said . . . .

:-)

Tomorrow I’m going to try and hook up with an NGO that operates locally that I think could help move this idea into a pilot phase: PSI Tanzania

Filed Under: Coca Cola Campaign, colalife 101, Meetings, Tanzania, Tanzania Trip Nov 08, Videos Tagged With: , , , , , ,
  • http://thrivingtoo.typepad.com/thriving_too/ Tessy Britton

    Simon, what an amazing trip. I enjoyed their response to your ideas so much, they get all the different aspects, to the benefits to the communities to the competitive advantage for Coke. Can’t help but feel that you may actually get something really meaningful done here!! :-)

  • http://www.simonberry.net Simon Berry

    Can anyone translate the Swahili? I only catch a few words: they are talking about putting medicine in the packets and distributing it out.

    When Benito breaks into English, his comments are very encouraging and practical. Here is a quote/paraphrase as some of it is hard to hear:

    ‘It’s a good idea, especially in Africa, the distribution of this medicine is very difficult. But the soda is being distributed very aggressively – it’s going to a lot of places… by doing this Coca-Cola will be doing Social Responsibility…. For me, this is a good idea (indicates the triangular package).. but to remove one bottle, this is a problem. Many people think ‘my sales are being reduced.. they are reducing my sales.’ ….

    Benito thinks the pakage would need to be waterproof, because of the rain. But it should be disposable. It will be too difficult to have it returned to the depo, but it would have to be made in plastic.
    Jane [ED]

  • http://www.breakfastsociety.com Mike Amos-Simpson

    lol 2 very Tanzanian things – the mobile phone and don’t expect the things to come back ;-)

    Is brilliant to see you taking the idea to the coalface and seeing the response. I’m sure there are plenty of good designers out there who’d be prepared to take on the challenge of creating something waterproof, disposable (or even better reusable in a different context such as a mosquito net), and that doesn’t mean having to lose a bottle which understandably would upset vendors.

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  • http://socialreporter.com David Wilcox

    This is definitely ace front line social reporting! Spreading the word here http://socialreporter.com/?p=449

  • Simon Berry

    Thanks David but you tought me all I know (and not just in social reporting!).

  • http://africahealth2010.aed.org/child_survival.html Dr. Magdalena Serpa

    Simon,

    This is great!

    Benito explaining the ColaLife idea to the people who work at the MDC and the discussion you guided, + listenning to the people in the field and finding the best approaches with them: brilliant!

    Peace,

    Magdalena

  • http://africahealth2010.aed.org/child_survival.html Dr. Magdalena Serpa

    oops…. “listening” (not “listenning”) … I shouls write in Spanish :) Let me try…

    ¡Simón, esto es fenomenal!

    La explicación de la campaña “Cola-Vida” compartida por Benito con las personas de MDC, la discusión que guiaste… y el escuchar a las personas de campo – para unidos encontrar las mejores estrategias – son métodos brillantes.

    Paz,

    Magdalena

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