By now we all know that Coke is bringing back its wildly popular “Share A Coke,” campaign with more names, more packages, more ways for consumers to experience the brand—and, in a bold move, an e-commerce platform.
But what you might not know is that last year the campaign drove +15% volume and increased sales. It saw double-digit growth for promotional packages. Positive or neutral sentiment hit 99% and more than 2 million personalized cans were shared—nearly all showed up online.
Part of that success came from the experiential component.
To reach people who had searched tirelessly in stores with no luck to find their names on a can of Coke —including those bin divers—the brand launched an experiential tour of traveling kiosks. The tour stopped in more than 500 locations where lots of people go, like the Essence Festival, Disney World and Daytona Beach, as well as less splashy stops like the grand opening of a Kroger store.
“These were simple executions, where we really tried not to get in the way of it and to give people a way to share their experience with Coke,” Evan Holod, director of marketing, The Coca-Cola Co., said at the ANA 2015 BAASH Conference in Chicago. “To see that excitement was amazing. This was a fantastic way for us to bring the campaign to consumers in a one –to-one way”
So … “what do when something works that well,” he says. “You bring it back.”
Starting last month, people could go to Shareacoke.com and order a personalized iconic glass bottle of Coke.
“We really believe that this is a way for people to plan with “Share a Coke,” for weddings, for moms for birthday parties and to bring in new drinkers,” Holod says. “People will be able to take the spirit of this campaign to new levels through the addition of ecommerce.”
Packaging will help get that message across with on-pack messaging like “Class of 2015, and less specific messages like “Family.”
The #Share a Coke” campaign first launched in Australia with 100 names printed on bottles, 250 in the U.S. This year, the U.S. program delivers 1,000 names and nicknames like “sidekick” and “better half.”
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