We could all take marketing lessons from Coca Cola

The name Coca-Cola is universal, one of the most famous brands ever. Even People all over the world over recognize the name and the logo. It’s a name like Kleenex or Xerox, so pervasive that the brand name becomes the generic description of a variety of items. Yet, Coke still spends millions of dollars each year marketing their soft drink. You would think for most of us wouldn’t even need to be marketed TO? When I go out to dinner and order a soft drink, I always say, “I’d like a Diet Coke.” What more can the company do to make us stop and pay attention?

The Share a Coke campaign is catching a lot of people’s eyes this summer. I first noticed the change on the cans about a few weeks ago. I’m not a coke drinker then I grabbed from a friend’s fridge said “Family” and the next one said “BFF.” I was curious what the new cans were all about so I actually went to the Coca-Cola website. Darn you, delicious soft drink company! I fell for your incredibly clever marketing ploy!

I thought the cans were cute, but then learned that the 20 oz. bottles have been replaced by names. With that knowledge, I revert back to the 7-year-old me who used to go through the bike license plate displays at the beach, desperately searching for my name. Unfortunately, I’m not likely to find my name on a Coke bottle this summer because the names on the bottles are the 250 most popular names of teens and millenials in the United States. How do I know this? I learned this fact because I wanted to learn more about the intriguing marketing campaign and researched articles about the campaign on the Internet.

The campaign was a huge success in the U.K. last summer so Coca-Cola decided to expand it this year. When you find your name, you can take a “selfie” with your bottle and share it online (the hashtag is #shareacoke, of course), or see who else out there has found your name for you? Not a teen or millennial? You can order a bottle with your name from the online store or get a customized bottle from the Share a Coke tour when your hometown is one of the 500 stops.
So, even though Coke is one of the most famous brands in the world, they have some how captured my attention enough to

• Look at each individual can I take from the fridge
• Go to their website
• Desperately search for name on a bottle
• Look up articles about the marketing campaign to learn more

What can we learn from this? The greats never rest on their laurels. Even the most famous brands in the world can get customers to examine their product more closely. We can #beunstoppabletogether.

Do you have questions or comments about the issues in today’s post, want to know how to apply them, or how to help others with them? If so, contact me at connie@pheiffgroup.com or CLICK HERE to schedule a 20-minute discovery call to discuss with you personally.