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Share a Coke is an award-winning multi-national campaign in the mid 2010s created by Damian Damjanovski while at Ogilvy & Mather in Sydney Australia for Coca-Cola, (Australia 2011, Great Britain and Ireland 2013, United States and Canada 2013, México and Colombia 2014, Brazil 2015) where "Coca-Cola" is removed from the bottle on one side, and replaced by the phrase "Share a Coke with" followed by a person's name. The campaign, which uses a list containing 250 of the country's most popular names (generic nicknames and titles are also used in some cases), aims to have people go out and find a bottle with their name on it, then share it with their friends. Users with more unusual names can custom-order a "Share a Coke" bottle with their name from the Coca-Cola Web site.
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The creative challenge
Coca-Cola is a well-established brand with a long history and one that has achieved market dominance. For any brand, such as Coke, that controls some 70 percent of market share, there are relatively few opportunities to enlist new customers. According to the creative brief, "Coca-Cola was no longer deeply connecting with Australian customers. The brand had lost relevance and it's [sic] 'cool' factor with Aussies. Coke needed to do something ground-breaking and innovative; something befitting their iconic status in pop culture."
Yet Coca-Cola is always on the lookout for novel communications that not only maintain its brand awareness, but that bring the brand to the attention of new audiences. The company launched a campaign which became known as 'Share a Coke', with the campaign objectives; "to strengthen the brand's bond with Australia's young adults – and inspire shared moments of happiness in the real and virtual worlds." The campaign, originally launched in Australia became so successful that it was subsequently rolled out to other countries.
The creative concept and execution
The concept was to introduce personalized Coke bottles or cans. Coca Cola printed 150 of Australia's most popular names on cans and bottles. This was the first time that the 'Coca Cola' brand had been replaced. Popular names were written in a 'look-alike Spencerian script' which is part of the Coke brand's distinctive brand identity.
The idea was to have consumers go out in search of a Coke with their name or their friend's names, and get together, by sharing a good time over a Coke. A heritage-listed advertising billboard in Sydney's Kings Cross was transformed into an interactive site. Interactive kiosks toured 18 Westfield centres, inviting consumers to personalise a 'Coca-Cola' can with any name of their choosing, with people queuing for hours to get a bespoke can. Apps were developed for consumers wanting deeper engagement with the campaign.
Social media was integral to the campaign. The campaign organisers seeded social media by targeting opinion leaders and influencers to get them to them lead the conversation and encourage others to seek out "Share a Coke" for themselves. Within days celebrities and others with no connection to Coke were spreading the concept across social networks. The campaign extended the audience reach as more people were exposed to the messages. According to Coke's creative team, "That [Australian] summer, Coke sold more than 250 million named bottles and cans in a nation of just under 23 million people". This campaign helped Coke extend its awareness across a broader age profile as they interacted with each customer on a personal level.
Campaign effectiveness and outcomes
The Share a Coke campaign was so successful that it was subsequently rolled out in over 80 countries. In Australia, the advertising agency, Ogilvy have estimated that the campaign increased Coke's share of the category by 4% an increased consumption by young adults by 7%. The campaign received multiple awards at the Creative Effectiveness Lion Awards at Cannes.
In the United States, where the campaign is credited with increasing sales by more than 2 %, the company and its agency has sought ways to extend the campaign while maintaining its relevance. In 2015, the company extended the campaign by increased the number of names to 1,000. Nicknames such as "bro", "better half" and "sidekick" were also added to the inventory of names. In 2016, the company replaced people's names with lyrics from 70 popular songs including "Lean on me" and "We are the champions".
Analysts have used the success of the Share a Coke campaign to remind marketers and advertisers of the need to personalise the communications message.