Coke, or Coca-Cola, is the world’s most recognizable brand and most international product (except Cuba and North Korea…). There is hardly a product – or an experience with a product – that is as universal as Coke. In all my travels, it has always been there – even if with some taste variations. If you are a fan of Coke, or just love a good story and good marketing around it, one of the best things to do when visiting Atlanta is to experience this global phenomenon in its own backyard…
The World of Coca-Cola – or Coke’s museum
The Coca-Cola Company is headquartered in Atlanta where this very popular beverage was invented back in the late 1880s. It was a time when pharmacists would make stuff that was supposed to be good for your health and you walked in to get your fix of good health. Fast forward about 125 years and this massive enterprise is run from a campus right across from Georgia Tech, a stone’s throw away from downtown Atlanta where it has always been based.
Coke fans can get their fill of their favorite soft drink by visiting the famous World of Coca-Cola right by Centennial Olympic Park in downtown, the museum that houses many pieces of memorabilia – as well as the secret formula itself. This is the third installment of such a museum – a fact most people do not realize. Most people know that there was a museum in Underground Atlanta that pre-dates the current one but that was NOT the first Coke museum! The first one actually resided in the company’s main tower on North Avenue. It was intended mainly for company folks but if a visitor arrived asking to see it, they were let in. I was one such person back in the late 1980s!
Well, today I went to the latest installment of the Coke museum so that makes me – in all likelihood – one of the few people who were not employees of Coke in the 1980s who has been to the THREE Coke museums! (let me rest while I bask in self-glory)
How to visit the Coke museum
The museum currently resides on the north side of Centennial Olympic Park, just to the west of Peachtree St., the main artery going through downtown Atlanta. It is near the College Football Hall of Fame and next to the Georgia Aquarium and the Center for Civil and Human Rights – great neighbors and all must-see’s too.
You can easily get to the area via the Peachtree St. MARTA rail station. So whether your are in Atlanta for a long visit or for a brief few days in business, the museum is easily reachable. Of course, it has a parking deck (at a cost), and or your favorite ride-sharing service can take you there. Depending on your pace, the museum could be seen in a couple of hours.
Memories
The museum puts on display a wide range of items from its history from serving trays to glasses to TV ads to vending machines to art work. It is an incredible collection sometimes interrupted by the theme of the secret formula they have embedded in this third installment of the museum (and some new characters to appeal to the children).
Experiences
But the museum offers more than memories, it actually offers experiences…
But one of the funnest parts of the whole museum is tasting all the kinds of products the company makes around the world! (“Veteran’s” tip: make sure you try the Italy product and watch people try t!)
The secret formula
The museum builds up a little the secret formula; the vault is a great idea! It will walk you through Coke history AND show you where the famously secret formula is stored.
But the key item to the secret of Coke, according to one of the videos, is really us, the consumers. In this case, me…
The World of Coca-Cola is well worth a visit when you come to or pass through Atlanta. See it with the eyes of a fan. And then see it through the eyes of a marketer. Brilliant under both lenses.
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