> CASE FILE 08 / 11

Level Up

A collaboration between Coca-Cola and Charlotte Phoenix to bring Coke into gaming culture, where the audience has a finely tuned radar for brands that don't belong. The whole effort lived or died on one thing: entering the space with genuine respect for it.

Brand StrategyCampaign StrategyDesign Direction
ClientCoca-Cola × Charlotte Phoenix
Year2022
01The Challenge

Recognition alone doesn't earn permission. The task was finding how the most recognizable beverage brand on earth could enter gaming as a welcome presence, not an intrusion.

02My Role

Working alongside the Charlotte Phoenix team, I led the brand and campaign strategy: the tone, the cultural posture, the logic before execution. I also worked closely with the other designers, lending direction where it helped and keeping the creative aligned to the strategy.

03The Solution

Respect before visibility. Coca-Cola didn't need to prove it was a gaming brand; it needed to show it understood how to enter the space without interrupting it. Directing from a strategic seat meant transmitting that intent clearly enough that the team could make a hundred small calls right without me in the room for each one.

Coca-Cola entering gaming could easily have been a punchline. The strategy's whole job was to make it feel earned: respect first, logo second.

Level Up project visual 1
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04The Result

Coca-Cola showed up in gaming as a guest the audience accepted, proof that a brand with no native gaming credibility can still earn a real seat at the table when the approach respects the room.

Level Up project visual 2
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My RoleBrand & Campaign Strategy Lead · Design Direction · in collaboration with Charlotte Phoenix