COCA-COLA WINS AD AGE PROMOTIONAL MARKETER OF THE YEAR AWARD

          Coca-Cola was named AD AGE's Promotional Marketer of
     the Year for 1996 due to the "strategic, brand-reinforcing
     promotions that helped it lead its industry in brand
     growth," according to Mark Gleason of AD AGE.  Contributing
     to Coca-Cola's success was its approach as an Olympic
     sponsor in Atlanta.  Gleason notes "with Olympics marketing
     more cluttered than ever," Coca-Cola "broke from the mold"
     of relating brands to athletes, and instead, linked its
     Coca-Cola Classic brand to fans.  The "For the Fans" ads hit
     four months before the Olympics and "shortly thereafter" the
     Olympic Torch Relay was run across the U.S., courtesy of
     Coca-Cola.  Sergio Zyman, Coca-Cola's CMO: "With the torch,
     we said to our consumers, 'We want you to have the chance to
     be at the Olympics, even if you're not going to Atlanta.'" 
     Coke's "heavy" Olympics budget was funded "primarily through
     reallocation of marketing money" (AD AGE, 3/17 issue).