- October 29, 2014
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Is the Share A Coke Campaign Working?
Did you find a Coke with your name on it this past summer? Did you share one with a friend? Now that school is back in session, let’s take a look to see how effective the “Share a Coke” campaign has been. The campaign features bottles on which the brand name has been replaced by popular first names, along with trendy nicknames like “Buddy” or “BFF”.
Smart Sharing
The company reported that over 125,000 “Share a Coke” posts had been shared across all digital channels from June 2 through July 14, and that 96% of consumer sentiment is either positive or neutral. As Media Post reported, “The #shareacoke hashtag and campaign-specific Web site [ShareaCoke.com] are smart content marketing plays, and the offline act of sharing Cokes prompts many consumers to talk about the campaign through digital channels, as well,” commented VP of strategic insights Rick Miller.
Many people were even willing to pay premium prices to find their “own” bottles of Coke and share them on social media, particularly Instagram.
Mixed Reports
Interestingly, some of the reviews about Share a Coke have been mixed, as noted in the Huffington Post. While the Wall Street Journal reported the campaign’s positive results on Twitter and Instagram, other media, like Forbes and Marketing Week have been more critical because the campaign hasn’t reversed Coke’s sales slump.
According to Forbes, “Coca-Cola reported $12.6 billion in second quarter net operating revenue, down 1% from the same period last year. As a result the soft drink behemoth has reported a 3% decline in revenue during the first half of 2014.”
Spending More Time
Writing for the Huffington Post, Collinger of the Medill IMC Spiegel Research Center references a study that analyzed the effect of a customer’s social engagement on purchase behavior. “We’ve found that customers who participate in content co-creation on social media, including those who merely view it, spend more on the brand immediately and over time.”
Despite the mixed reports on the campaign’s results so far, our view is that Coca-Cola has found a truly unique way to engage its target audience (Millennials) and is likely seeing significant purchase increases among those participating and sharing their Cokes.
