Looking to impress your girlfriend? If you can find it, you might be able to give her a bottle of Coca-Cola with her name printed on it.
These personalized Coca-Cola bottles are being seen for the first time in the United States, supporting an integrated marketing campaign called “Share a Coke” that was actually launched in 2012 in Australia.
The Coca-Cola company has already started dropping the 20 ounce bottles all over the United States featuring 250 of the most popular first names for teenagers and “Millennials” in the United States.
The idea behind the campaign, not surprisingly, is to create an affinity for the brand as well as reinforce the connection that young consumers have with Coca-Cola, by encouraging them to share the product with family and friends. Stuart Kronauge, SVP of Sparkling Brands, a Coca-Cola subsidiary in North America, said that “We hope that ‘Share a Coke’ creates occasions between people this summer where they can simply enjoy the moment.”
Not only are first names being printed on smaller bottles, on the larger 1.25 L and 2 L bottles of Coke, Coke Zero and Diet Coke are printed the words “family” and “friends”. Then of course there on a 12 ounce cans which will feature a host of nicknames and colloquialisms including “Grillmaster”, “Wingman”, “BFF”, and “Legend” to name a few.
But Coca-Cola’s campaign doesn’t end there. At Freestyle fountain dispensers across the country users will be able to scan a QR code on their mobile phones to send a free 20 ounce Coca-Cola coupon to a friend.
Coca-Cola is supporting their campaign with a nine week schedule of advertisements on television, movies and across social media. They’re also sponsoring a live tour as well as interactive and digital billboards.
Not a company to forget that social sharing is the trend of the day, anyone who uses the “hashtag” #Shareacoke and shares pictures and stories related to Coca-Cola will be eligible to win the chance to have their face plastered on Coca-Cola billboards around the country. Not only that but on social media sites Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler and Instagram users will be able to create “virtual” bottles of Coca-Cola and personalize them with any name they choose.
And, if you or a loved one feel left out because you don’t have one of the most popular 250 names in the United States, a national tour with 500 stops around the country will allow you to get a customized Coca-Cola many can with your name on it.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how you do native advertising right (if you have a billion-dollar advertising budget, of course).
