Karmarama secures 5m Coca-Cola Burn business

Karmarama has won a place on Coca-Cola’s advertising roster after scooping the £5m brief to promote energy drink brand Burn across Europe and Russia.

The agency is understood to have won the business following a pitch against two undisclosed European agencies.

The appointment forms part of Coca-Cola’s plans to reinvigorate Burn, which has failed to make an impact with consumers since its launch in 2000. It is aimed at 18to 26-year-old consumers, and the launch was supported with a sampling campaign in nightclubs and bars. It has received limited support since.

It is expected that the drink will retain its “night-time” positioning, as opposed to moving into the same area as rival Red Bull, which is positioned as “stimulation for body and mind”.

Karmarama is understood to be developing a major campaign for the brand, which is expected to include its first UK TV work and online. It is expected to be used across Europe, including Spain and Poland, where it is already more successful.

The drink is also available in countries, such as Russia, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Estonia, France, Germany and Greece, and it is popular among clubbers in holiday destinations such as Ibiza.

Since the launch of Burn, Coca-Cola has introduced several energy drinks including Relentless and variant Inferno. It faces competition from market leader Red Bull and GlaxoSmithKline’s Lucozade, as well as a raft of new entrants, and increased activity from existing brands, including PepsiCo’s Gatorade.

The UK energy and sports drinks sector is likely to grow from £770m to £800m by the end of the year, according to figures from Mintel.

Karmarama declined to comment.