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Few marketing campaigns have ever stirred the same level of interest, controversy, and excitement as Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign.
As we take a step back into the pages of the past, let’s look into this riveting story.
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Back in early 2011, the Coca-Cola Sydney office was facing challenges with brand engagement. Most notably among young folks.
Traditionally, The Coca-Cola Company used uniform, global marketing campaigns. However, the one-size-fits-all approach needed to be fixed.
Seeing this, the local marketing team was tasked with revitalizing the Coca-Cola brand.
The team famously proposed personalizing Coca-Cola labels with individual names. Personalizing a can or bottle of Coke to the individual.
They launched the new campaign in Australia nationwide on October 1st, 2011.
The team was able to put together 150 of Australia’s most popular names and place them on Coke products that included:
The marketing campaign was named “Share a Coke.” And it includes a call to action encouraging sharing with named persons.
It proved largely successful in Australia and would lead to a broader implementation globally.
This marked a shift in focus to personalization in Coca-Cola’s marketing efforts.
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After a successful launch in Australia, The Coca-Cola Company decided to launch the “Share a Coke” campaign in other markets.
In the summer of 2012, they launched the campaign:
Share a Coke would eventually reach 80 countries globally.
Each country featured locally popular names like:
The Share a Coke campaign eventually reached the US in the summer of 2014. It faced criticism in the US from people with unique/uncommon names who felt excluded.
In the UK, the campaign included “Mum” but not “Dad” in the bottles. This led to a public outcry and debate about gender bias.
In 2014, the campaign ditched names in favor of famous landmarks. Coca-Cola introduced limited-edition bottles featuring landmarks and holiday destinations. These places included:
In 2016, the team mixed things up with a lyrical twist.
Coca-Cola incorporated popular song lyrics on bottle labels in the United States. Like “I’m walking on sunshine” and “We are the champions.”
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Around 2015, The Coca-Cola Company addressed concerns about name exclusivity in the “Share a Coke” campaign.
The beverage giant launched an online customization platform.
The platform was helpful in many ways:
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By 2016, Share a Coke expanded to Israel with the “selfie bottle” innovation.
The bottle featured a camera attached to the bottle’s base. It was able to automatically take photos when tilted to 70 degrees.
It was designed to capture consumers while drinking a bottle of Coke. It helped Coca-Cola align with selfie culture and social media trends targeting younger audiences.
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