How Coca-Cola Let Consumers Do Their Marketing For Them
What you can learn from the “Share a coke” campaign
In 2012, Coca-Cola teamed with Oligvy and Mather Australia agency to launch their ambitious digital media campaign named ‘Share a Coke’.
It involved changing the traditional wrapping around the Coca-Cola bottle to say ‘Share a Coke with…’ and a common name, with the purpose of creating a more personal relationship with consumers and inspiring shared moments of happiness for them to show off on social media.
And it worked.
That summer, Coke sold more than 250 million named bottles in a country of just under 23 million people. The campaign has since made its way around the world, reaching more than 70 countries so far.
What made this campaign so successful?
Coca-Cola as a brand was emotionally connecting with its customer through personalization.
For example, when a consumer shares a name-branded Coke bottle with his father, he feels as he is honouring his father rather than promoting the Coca-Cola brand itself. Moreover, by taking and sharing photos with the #shareacoke hashtag on social media, it drives more personal online media content which leads to many shares across.
A sense of belonging is the most effective marketing tactic a brand can create.
And there is nothing more personal than your name.
Consumers doing the marketing for you
Best thing you can do in marketing is have people express themselves and be a part of your story.
But just telling people to use a hashtag to promote your brand isn’t enough, you have to give consumers an incentive to talk about your brand.
By encouraging consumers to promote the campaign, Coca-Cola was able to successfully reach members of their target market and even beyond that.
Powerful Calls to Action in the campaign
Coca-Cola created a powerful call to action in the campaign. The campaign name ‘Share a Coke’ was a call to action itself. It made people purchase Coca-Cola and share their memorable moments with their friends and family on social media.
Usually, brands will have a "learn more" or "sign up now" CTA. These are designed for the benefit of the business to get people moving to the next step in the buying process.
Call-to-Values can work much better. They're still action-based, but they also include a value proposition, reminding them how this action will benefit them. It's a CTA that drives excitement, fomo, and reduces friction.
Common examples can be:
learn more —> create your ___ now
sign up —> start your free trial
get started —> start building
buy now —> get x% off today!