CocaCola.com - Sprite Yard: The Network based on Sprite

Sprite Yard is a new mobile social networking site created by Coca Cola. It first launched in China and will be available for the States later this month. The site will look like and boast features similar to other networks such as Myspace and Facebook; there will be profiles, chatting, and photo sharing all via mobile phones. The target audience, teens with phones, will get to redeem prizes and contentâ€"videos called mobisodes, and ringtones-- by typing in codes from Sprite bottle caps. Coca Cola wants to extend the site to other soda brands.

The "Sprite Yard" is the first "community-to-go" that combines photo sharing, message board, planner, and digital downloads in one simple interface for mobile phones.

Cellphone advertising is already becoming an established means of brand communication; Sprite Yard will take marketing a step further with a permanent site dedicated to their product. The brand is hugely popular around the world.

Social networking sites aren´t easy to create, especially successful ones. Who wants to be a member of a thinly veiled ad? Who wants to hang out with Sprite? Kids might spend their entire data usage plan visiting the Sprite Yard. Putting together a networking site that´s strictly for mobile use can be difficult especially when it´s focused on a soft drink.