Brand
Coca Cola
Creator
Ogilvy Australia (agency)
Title
Share a Coke
CM Score (out of 100): 90 (quite successful)
Scale: 0-50 (unsuccessful); 51-70 (moderately
successful); 71-90 (quite successful); 91-100 (superior).
Description
If you can believe it, back in 2011 the world’s most iconic soda
brand was having an awareness problem in Australia. According to the company, fully
50% of teens and young adults hadn’t even tasted a Coke in the month before
this effort launched.
In what was truly a bold move at the time, they decided to
remove their most valuable asset — the ‘Coke’ name — from the flagship product and
replace it with 150 of the most popular names of people in Australia.
They also created kiosks where people could add their own
name, just in case Coke had missed someone, and Aussies waited in line for
hours just for the privilege. I would imagine they also bought that can of Coke,
don’t you think?
Why it works
This idea, which has since been duplicated around the world
by other branches of the Coca-Cola family tree (you know what they say about
imitation), was big and bold, but it was also simple.
It broke through and connected individually with people and
made them feel special by leveraging the power of the Coca-Cola brand. It’s a
classic example of showing rather than telling…and Coke was telling Australians:
“We want to get to know you personally.”
In just three months, young adult consumption of Coke was up
seven percent. It was working.
Why it works as
content marketing
This was a big idea that had to be executed on a grand scale
in order to be successful. But where there’s risk, there’s reward; and this was
clearly more than just advertising. It was an idea that leveraged the power of
the brand to make people feel good…something more brands should strive for.
It’s the kind of big thinking that can only be executed with
content marketing. Running ads showing cans of Coke with people’s names on them
wouldn’t have worked…it would have come off as egotistical. This clearly did
not.
What can we learn?
There are many things we can learn here. One of the biggest
is that localization is invaluable in strategy and concept development. While the
idea has been imported across the globe since, it was designed to solve a
specific problem the brand was having in Australia by allowing people to become
the hero of the story…that’s why it
worked.
Coke also did a nice job of extending the effort seemingly
everywhere, creating interactive applications with electronic billboards, digital
apps and websites that replicated the excitement online. They also kept the
public involved by inviting them to vote for an additional 50 names that would
be added, helping to keep the momentum going.
Perhaps the best part of this idea is that it can inspire smaller
brands, who may not have millions to spend, to think big even if they can’t spend big.
What’s your brand’s most valuable asset? How can you share
it with people to make them feel
special? How can you make your audience the hero of the story?
Think big and, like Coke, you will be rewarded.
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