challenge.
Coca-Cola was in the midst of a transformational journey: to become the best marketer in the world. The challenge wasn’t ambition, it was adoption. Leadership had a clear global vision, but markets around the world were struggling to see how that vision translated locally. Simultaneously, the Marketing Transformation Office were struggling to get an understanding of how their audience were receiving and relating to the transformation narrative.
Their solution was a flagship Marketing Transformation Summit, a two-day event designed to inspire executives, align markets, and create momentum for change that addressed real user needs. But to succeed, the summit needed to do more than present strategy. It had to capture vital pain points, craft a story that resonated with diverse audiences, and show teams how the transformation could be lived out in practice.
role.
As an embedded strategist within the Transformation Office, I co-led the discovery and insight process across 8 global markets. This meant:
Designing and conducting over 10 hours of focus groups and interviews with senior stakeholders (VP-level and above) to uncover user challenges, blockers, and opportunities within their regions, reporting back to global leadership to give them a holistic understanding of their audience's needs
Synthesising qualitative insights into clear themes that reflected both global ambition and local reality
Translating these findings into compelling narratives and deliverables designed to engage, inform, and inspire an executive audience, including Coke's CMO
Leading a group of Change Agents- Coca Cola Directors- in local markets in weekly workshops to ensure alignment of the global vision with local user needs, and secure buy in of markets to the transformation ahead of the summit
results.
Produced 8 flagship deliverables showcasing audience needs presented at Coca-Cola’s Marketing Transformation Summit, shaping the narrative for an audience of 200+ senior executives, including the CMO
Enabled local adoption of global transformation priorities, proving the value of audience-centred storytelling at scale by ensuring content directly addressed their challenges and needs
Extended impact beyond the summit: insights and narratives were so effective they became the foundation for a series of regional roadshows, embedding transformation priorities across markets worldwide
Built deeper expertise in complex ecosystems, senior stakeholder engagement, and turning qualitative research into narratives that shift behaviour