Not just because Coke tastes better

The simple answer is that Coke tastes better, but the more interesting one is because I just got this on mycokerewards.com for 400 "Coke rewards points" a.k.a. the price of a free Coke T-shirt. "This" being a Cybershot DSC-T30, a 7.2 megapixel digital Sony camera (conveniently pictured below).

So, here's the action replay for your amazement and disbelief.

Lunchtime browsing

It's lunchtime at my Office Space-like place of employment, when I'm permitted to browse around and waste my personal (non-company) time on web. I am finishing up my turkey and sharp cheddar bagel sandwich, and simultaneously entering Coke rewards codes so that I can save up for a coveted Coke baseball cap or theme park discount coupons or some other item of Coke falderal.

Discovery

After entering a few codes I realize I'll probably break 500 by the end of summer, so I idly browse through the list of prizes available at that level--which are unimpressive. So, I drop down to the level below, thinking perhaps I could get TWO sets of coupons for free Blockbuster rentals instead, and on the third page of browsing I see: Cyber-shot® DSC-T30. No "$50 off" or "discount coupon good toward." Just plain, simple "sweet camera - 400 rewards points."

"Ah," I say. "This is clearly a gimmick description. I will click this item and get the details."

The details are equally simple. Sony Cybershot DSC-T30 from sonystyle.com, or $499 credit toward another camera, click link for list of eligible cameras.

Click me!

I give this a few seconds of thought and click the "YES! GIVE ME THAT!" button as quick as I can. At this point, I'm fairly certain someone in charge of the mycokerewards.com site has dropped the ball, and I need to make decisions quickly in case the Coca-Cola powers that be pull the plug. This is a big thing for me, because I'm the sort of person who, if I were choosing to buy the DSC-T30, would look at said camera for weeks or months before coming to the conclusion that "yes, indeed, that is the camera for me." To give you a better understanding of how analytical I am (wanting all the facts before making a decision) I briefly considered browsing around the rest of the site to see if anything else was being offered at a ludicrously low point-cost before common sense kicked in a sense of urgency.

Congratulations on choosing your reward

So, I click the button and I'm given a "congratulations" sort of screen with a long alphanumeric code, a sonystyle link, and instructions. I click the link, and it errors out. I try another portion of the mycokerewards site, and it is mysteriously unresponsive. So, I pause and print the congrats page (as it suggests), and I wander over to talk to a co-worker, also browsing around on lunch break. He is quite skeptical. I am in a bit of a shock.

Checkout

I return to my small hamster cage of software development and ponder options. I realize I don't need the link from mycokerewards to get to sonystyle, so I browse over to Sony. I search for "coke" and "rewards" in various combinations to no avail. I find the DSC-T30 and add it to my cart, put in the promo code, and check out. The camera price is completely discounted. I briefly consider attempting to determine what other cameras I might be able to discount by $500. Sense of urgency prevails again, suggesting that if the Coke people made a mistake, I'm more likely to come out ahead if they would also have to go cancel an order from Sony. I forge on through the checkout, finding that my shipping is also discounted. I complete the order: one (1) DSC-T30, ground shipping, cost $0.

Fine print and more info

I print a receipt from SonyStyle (being, for some reason, very interested in maintaining a paper trail), try mycokerewards again (still unresponsive), and revisit my co-worker. He continues to be suspicious. If it is an error, he believes Coke has fine print to revoke the prize. I don't doubt this, but I start to believe I'm getting a killer new camera from Coke/Sony, and I get a little giddy. I return to my desk. I have e-mails from mycokerewards and sonystyle. The former is basically the congratulations page. The latter is a receipt and a link to track the order. I click the link. The order is "ready for shipment." I just checked it, and it is still marked with that status, estimated to ship tomorrow.

Second opinion

Another co-worker returns from lunch and I recount the story to him with (I think) the appropriate measure of shock and/or disbelief and a "holy crap" for good measure. I express co-worker #1's skepticism. I try mycokerewards.com again, and it has returned. The camera is now marked "sold out." I just checked it, and it's still there. You can find it in the 251-500 point range or the electronics category.

Co-worker #2 and I go visit co-worker #1 with the new information. He stands strong in his belief that Coke is not out to give away free cameras. I'm busy pondering what kind of batteries my new camera takes, and I offer to bring said camera in to take a picture of co-worker #1's surprise when it arrives.

Conjecture

I'm pretty well convinced the camera is coming. So, what's the game?

Did the Coke web folks screw up and take the site down?

Or, is this a planned marketing ploy for them--keep up interest in the site by randomly giving away small quantities of very nice stuff for reasonable amounts of Coke reward points? (Who has the thousands of points it would take to get such a camera normally? That's right--only the obsessed.) If it was a planned reward and not a screw-up, then perhaps they've done similar things before and sudden traffic volume (from obsessed site watchers) suddenly brought down the site.

Free advert

So, if it's a marketing ploy, I'm on board. I think it's a great idea. What is this post but an ad for Coca-Cola (my favorite soda) and Sony (my favorite Japanese electronics manufacturer)? Coke/Sony spent $499 + $14 shipping to buy a nice bit of praise from me, which will reach my meager list of blog readers--mainly friends and family. And, it's very likely that every person who sees me with my new camera will get the whole spiel until I get bored of re-telling it--which might take a while. It's got several good elements--free stuff, electronics, and a bit of the unknown.

If it was a screw-up from the rewards site, then I still give Coke/Sony credit. No one has sent me a "dear sir" e-mail rescinding the offer. They've still got a nice ad here on the blog, and I'm still going to be telling my "free" camera story.

Lucky!

Either way, I think it can be said that I was on the right page at exactly the right time, mistake or marketing plan. And, assuming the camera arrives next week as planned, my opinion of the Coca-Cola and Sony brands is without peer, and I'll likely share that with others.

So, that, in my opinion, is why Coke is better than Pepsi, and Sony is #1 electronics Gojira. I think they're flippin' sweet, and I just wanted to say thanks.

More to come

I've been googling around to see if anyone else has experienced such a boon from mycokerewards, but I haven't come up with anything yet. I'll keep the readers (both of you) updated on future events. I'll also ping the mycokerewards people to see if they have any comment. Perhaps future photos here will be coming from the DSC-T30 (with double anti-blur protection).