What innovators can learn from the share a coke campaign

Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign increased brand awareness and consumption by 7%. Ogilvy in Australia won the pitch with a simple idea: placing the names of friends on Coke bottles. People were encouraged to reconnect with or introduce friends to Coke. The campaign was launched on TV, the press, and social media. A Facebook campaign allowed 65,000 people to indicate who they would share a coke with, leading to another 50 names’ release. The success factors were innovation for Coca-Cola, mass market appeal, high-level personalization, and user-generated content. The campaign earned over 18 million media impressions and an 870% increase in Facebook traffic. The campaign also changed attitudes, as young adults developed a positive impression of Coke. The campaign has relaunched in the UK, with similar results, and the US campaign is planned.