You can’t have missed Coke’s latest marketing campaign ‘Share a Coke with… [insert name here]’. Shop fridges are overflowing with personalised bottles and images are being poured onto social networking sites as people excitedly rush to upload ‘their’ bottle of pop.
The nation’s favourite fizzy drink has marketing down to a tee and is living proof that the most simple of techniques can be incredibly effective.
The figures speak for themselves – Coke’s Facebook page has grown by an eye-popping 870% since the campaign launch and has become the 23rd most talked about Facebook page in the world.
Pretty impressive stuff. But how did they do it?
Personalised marketing
It all comes down to giving people what they want. Who doesn’t love something with their name on? Seeing something that could have been made especially for you sparks instant excitement that is difficult to stifle.
Consumers tend to favour brands that create personalised content because it conveys interest in building a relationship with them and is engaging on a more ‘human’ level. This is why you should be aiming to create content that is tailored to a specific audience. That way, you will be focused on producing something that is engaging, valuable and relevant in a particular niche.
And that’s just it – Coke’s latest campaign is relevant to everyone. Regardless of their age, job or social standing, everyone can relate to the ‘Share a Coke with…’ campaign – even people who don’t drink Coke! It brings people together, which is what you should aim to do with your content – try to spark discussion with an appealing piece of content.
Amplification
The campaign makes for some very shareable images, which are sweeping their way across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. ‘Share a Coke with…’ went viral on social media: in fact, some people are even finding out about the campaign via these platforms.
The hashtag #ShareACoke is making waves on Twitter, encouraging people to upload photos of bottles with their own name or names of friends and family. There is even a Share a Coke website and a Facebook app where people can create virtual cans with their names on.
This highlights just how important the amplification aspect is to a marketing campaign – so remember to give plenty of weight to this in your content strategy.
Jenny Maclean
