13 Jun 2013 Coke’s ‘sharing’ advertising campaign a worldwide success
The Share a Coke program, in which people’s names or year of birth are printed on individual Coke cans or bottles, has become the global benchmark for Coke on innovation in the past year, says Coca-Cola’s global head of content and advertising, Jonathan Mildenhall (below), and is an example of how the drinks giant plans to double its sales by 2020 and innovate through Coke’s mandate to own a “disproportionate share of pop culture and consumer conversations”.
Speaking on a visit to Australia in March this year, he said: “Australia managed to deliver 4 per cent uplift during the Share A Coke period last year which made us very, very happy… It is the most awarded campaign in the Coca-Cola system, bar none. It was amazing to see that. Share A Coke is going to 20 markets this year.”
Mildenhall is considered somewhat of a sage in the global advertising industry for his efforts in revolutionising Coke’s marketing programs to “disproportionately dominate” pop culture and consumer contact through tie-ups with Hollywood, Bollywood and ambitious technology initiatives designed to get people talking about the brand.
He is overseeing a project with Ridley Scott’s Hollywood production company, RGA, on whether Coke will fund a feature film for release in the lead-up to Christmas 2015 starring Coke’s polar bears. He is also involved with Will.I. Am of Black Eyed Peas fame who was appointed as creative director on a range of recycled products using plastic bottles which Coke hopes to sell under the brand Ekocycle.
While Coca-Cola has traditionally been one of the biggest-spending brands on TV, Mildenhall is hellbent on changing that perception: “I really remain steadfastly committed to develop ideas that are not TVcentric,” he said. “It is leading us to get a much, much more surprising set of creative ideas across all of our brands.
“The role of TV will never go from the Coca-Cola company; TV has a unique set of attributes in a marketing campaign that other media just cannot give us but I just don’t think it should be the starting point.
“I still need the audiences and programming context that TV can bring but what I’m interested in is changing the role of TV.”
Mildenhall added that the appointment of high-profile creative leaders such as designer Marc Jacobs, Ridley Scott and Will.I.Am to various Coke-owned brands forced change on a “very structured” company like Coca-Cola.
“They are so disruptive,” he said. “They have no regard for our structure, our hierarchy, our processes or our research techniques. They have no understanding of how the company works so they come in from a very pure creative and strategic perspective and we pay them to challenge us and challenge the opportunities around our brands. But you just can’t put those types of creative directors through a traditional multinational process.”
‘Share a Coke’ launches in the UK
Coca-Cola has taken its much-publicised ‘Share a Coke’ campaign to the UK to coincide with its “summer”. Claimed as its “biggest ever” summer campaign, the company is replacing its branding with 150 of the UK’s most popular names across 100 million packs as it looks to reverse a period of slow sales growth and drive positive uplift in to brand perception.
The personalised packs – which appear on individual 375ml and 500ml PET bottles of Coca-Cola, Diet Coke and Coke Zero – have been distributed to stores with little media support as the brand looked to drive intrigue around the campaign. The on-pack creative also features the hashtag #ShareACoke, encouraging people to tell their friends about their discovery online.
Those who are unable to find their names on pack can visit the dedicated Share A Coke UK website or the the Share A Coke Facebook app to create virtual cans with their names on.
The bottle roll-out will be supported with a fully integrated marketing campaign from May, which includes a TV ad that will feature young people telling stories about people they admire and are inspired by. The campaign, which was created by Leo Burnett, is its biggest ever in terms of media spend for the four month summer period – even larger than the burst around last summer’s Olympic Games.
Jon Woods, managing director of Coca-Cola Great Britain and Ireland, told Marketing Week the campaign replicates similar activity that took place in Australia and New Zealand last summer and helped boost engagement with the brand and grow volume in the regions.
He added: “Last year was the most fabulous year to be involved with Coke but our sales were not as strong as we would have liked. We have got off to a good start this year and we think this campaign will build momentum on the first quarter. We are still cycling some of the crummy weather from last summer but this is going to be a really strong campaign for the brand – it’s quite unusual and arresting to see your name replace a brand as iconic as Coke.”
In 2012 sales of Coca-Cola variants in the grocery, convenience and impulse market increased just 0.8 per cent to £1.15bn and volume sales fell 3.3 per cent, according to the Britvic Soft Drinks Report. Sales of Pepsi variants grew 7.4 per cent to £352.2m, while volume increased 10 per cent.
Woods said: “I think the measure of success for us with this summer’s campaign is how we excite our core consumer, create interest in the brand and drive value and volume.”
Sources: Australian Financial Review, Marketing Week
What’s in a name? Why brands are buying into personalisation
“… the real reason these campaigns exist is for sharing online. It’s during that moment that you’ll snap a photo, tag your friends and post it for the world to see. Because you’re drawing attention to it, it means your marketing the product, good news for the brand in question. That tagged photo is going to last a lot longer than the physical can itself as comments, likes and share will keep the memory alive.
“What these brands realise is that individuals want to be treated as such, they’re not a statistic or make up a percentage of their sales increase, they’re people with unique qualities and features that separate them from the rest. This is the direction marketing has been going for a while now, and the personalisation of physical items and goods is the next step forward.”
Simply Zesty blog: Read more
Yet the real reason these campaigns exist is for sharing online. It’s during that moment that you’ll snap a photo, tag your friends and post it for the world to see. Because you’re drawing attention to it, it means your marketing the product, good news for the brand in question. That tagged photo is going to last a lot longer than the physical can itself as comments, likes and share will keep the memory alive.
What these brands realise is that individuals want to be treated as such, they’re not a statistic or make up a percentage of their sales increase, they’re people with unique qualities and features that separate them from the rest. This is the direction marketing has been going for a while now, and the personalisation of physical items and goods is the next step forward.
– See more at: http://www.simplyzesty.com/Blog/Article/June-2013/What-s-In-A-Name-Why-Brands-Are-Buying-Into-Personalisation#sthash.leqdL1g0.dpuf
Yet the real reason these campaigns exist is for sharing online. It’s during that moment that you’ll snap a photo, tag your friends and post it for the world to see. Because you’re drawing attention to it, it means your marketing the product, good news for the brand in question. That tagged photo is going to last a lot longer than the physical can itself as comments, likes and share will keep the memory alive.
What these brands realise is that individuals want to be treated as such, they’re not a statistic or make up a percentage of their sales increase, they’re people with unique qualities and features that separate them from the rest. This is the direction marketing has been going for a while now, and the personalisation of physical items and goods is the next step forward.
– See more at: http://www.simplyzesty.com/Blog/Article/June-2013/What-s-In-A-Name-Why-Brands-Are-Buying-Into-Personalisation#sthash.leqdL1g0.dpuf
Yet the real reason these campaigns exist is for sharing online. It’s during that moment that you’ll snap a photo, tag your friends and post it for the world to see. Because you’re drawing attention to it, it means your marketing the product, good news for the brand in question. That tagged photo is going to last a lot longer than the physical can itself as comments, likes and share will keep the memory alive.
What these brands realise is that individuals want to be treated as such, they’re not a statistic or make up a percentage of their sales increase, they’re people with unique qualities and features that separate them from the rest. This is the direction marketing has been going for a while now, and the personalisation of physical items and goods is the next step forward.
– See more at: http://www.simplyzesty.com/Blog/Article/June-2013/What-s-In-A-Name-Why-Brands-Are-Buying-Into-Personalisation#sthash.leqdL1g0.dpuf