Coca-Cola Unveils ‘Billion Reasons to Believe’ Campaign

In line with Coca-Cola’s commitment to inspire and empower the Nigerian youth, the brand has unveiled a new campaign tagged “Billion Reasons to Believe”. The campaign is aimed at inspiring optimism among young people, challenging them to believe in themselves and achieve their dreams.

The Billion Reasons to Believe campaign seeks to fulfill Coca-Cola’s corporate mission to inspire optimism and happiness and to make a difference in the communities where it operates. It will achieve this by motivating young persons, particularly teenagers, to aspire and reach for their dreams with an ‘I-can-do-spirit’ through learning about the inspiring stories of other Nigerians who achieved success despite the odds.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Patricia Jemibewon, Marketing Director at Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, spoke about Coca-Cola’s belief in the potentials and creative ingenuity of teenagers, noting that all that teens needed to blossom is the courage to believe in themselves and the knowledge that the limitations they perceive had been the stepping stones to success for some other persons. She said that the campaign would serve as a stimulus for young people through its message of optimism and by showcasing true stories of remarkable Nigerians who have leveraged limitations or challenges to leapfrog to success.

According to Jemibewon, teenagers represent about 43 percent of the population in Nigeria; and the society needs to help them to build self-confidence and to see the world in colours through the right lense, so they can take ownership for creating the future of their dreams.

“This campaign is about the everyday Nigerian and they feature prominently in all our adverts on traditional and digital media. We have inspiring stories of people like Aisha Tunmisa who is a fashion entrepreneur while still in medical school as well as IK Ogbonna, a fast rising actor, despite speech difficulty and other challenges”, Jemibewon said.

Teens and other Coca-Cola fans can follow the ‘Billion Reasons to Believe’ stories on the campaign website http://ng.iamareason.com/ and via the hashtag #iamareason. Teens also have the opportunity to tell their own stories of perseverance and breakthrough on those platforms, to inspire others.

The Billion Reasons to Believe campaign is the latest among several initiatives, such as, Coke Studio and Copa Coca-Cola, that represent proof points of the beverage giant’s commitment to inspiring and enabling Nigerian teenagers to pursue their passions. Other initiatives like 5by20, The Coca-Cola Company’s global commitment to enable the economic empowerment of 5 million Women entrepreneurs across the company’s value chain by 2020, is a veritable platform to promote entrepreneurship among women and also facilitate their access to business skills training, affordable financiing and peer networking and mentoring, instilling in them the confidence that comes with building a successful business These initiatives also represent Coca-Cola’s contributions to the sustainable development of communities across the country.

About Coca Cola Nigeria Limited
Coca-Cola Nigeria, an active citizen of the community and one of the most respected companies in Nigeria, is a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company, the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands.  Led by Coca-Cola, one of the world’s most valuable and recognizable brands, our Company’s portfolio features 20 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitamin water, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks.

Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of more than 1.9 billion servings a day.  With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates.