The "Share a Coke" advertising campaign launched by Coca-Cola in 2014 was an immediate success. It was the first time in 10 years that Coke saw an increase in sales. The campaign encouraged people to find their name or a friend's name on Coke bottles in an effort to promote sharing. It targeted all age groups and saw increased consumption during the summer months. The simple message of sharing a Coke with others tapped into emotions and allowed consumers to feel personally connected to the brand. The campaign continued to be effective in subsequent years and helped Coca-Cola rise from a period of declining marketing success.

1. ADVERTISING CONTENT
Erica Jones
May 13, 2019
Dr. C. Jennings
One of the most noticeable brands in the world is Coca-Cola. The
company has been offering their products since the 1800’s. When
you have been around in business that long you are constantly
challenged with the task of how to market your products in ways
that will draw the people to you. In the past Coca-Cola has had some
of the most memorable ads, such as the Polar Bear Coke ads during
the holidays, and the company is a synonymous with friends, family
and fun. In 2014 Coca-Cola introduced their campaign, Share a Coke,
and it was an immediate success. It was the first time in ten years
that Coca-Cola saw an increase in sales (McQuilken, 2014). The
campaign sought to encourage people to look for their names,
friends’ names, coworkers’ names and others in an effort to
promote sharing.
TARGET MARKET
The target market for the product being advertised was anyone!
Coca-Cola marketed this during the summer months and
encouraged those grabbing a coke, to grab one for a friend too.
This advertisement was for family, friends, coworkers, and
anyone else in someone’s life. They also sought to connect with
the millennial population, globally, but also captured the older
population.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the ad was to first increase the consumption of
Coke products during the summer months. The secondary
objectives included creating a buzz around Coca-Cola, as it had
been awhile since people were excited about the brand
(Unknown, 2012). Lastly, the objective was to think of someone
else, besides yourself, when purchasing a Coke.
PRIMARY MESSAGE
IThe primary message of the campaign was to simply share a
coke, while caring about the people in our lives. It was a call to
action to be unselfish in our daily consumption of their product.
Coca-Cola personally connected to people, even if they did not
drink soda, because the message was to think of someone other
than yourself. As time has gone on, the primary message has
shifted into other ways to connect with the people in our lives.
According to Jaideep Kibe, the Vice President of Coca-Cola
trademark in North America, the summer 2018 campaign focused
on “intimacy and proximity of Coke, and the meaning behind
every time you share a Coke (Moye, 2018). Coca-Cola is aiming to
be a part of the lives of its consumers.
Share a Coke

2. SUCCES ELEMENTS
This advertising satisfies all of the SUCCESs elements because the
ad continually changes, but the objective and primary message is
still centered around the original content.
Simplicity- The ‘Share a Coke’ ad was simple, yet profound, as it
just required that you think of someone else and purchase a drink
with their name on it (Shimp & Andrews, 2013).
Unexpectedness- This ad campaign was creative, deviated from
what is usually expected of Coke, and it generated world-wide
interest from young and old (Shimp & Andrews, 2013) .
Concreteness- Coca-Cola demonstrated concreteness by
displaying families or friends having fun with a Coke and the tag
line, “Share a Coke”.
Credibility- The ‘Share a Coke’ campaign was believed consumers
should share a Coke. Consumers and even those not originally
consumers, thought they should share a Coke with someone else
too! This is reflected in the increased sales and frenzy this ad
caused.
Emotionality- The ‘Share a Coke’ campaign taps into the emotions
of the consumers as it requires them to think of others. While
grabbing a drink for themselves, they suddenly wonder if there
are drinks with someone the love, work with or know name on a
Coke bottle too.
Storytelling- The ‘Share a Coke’ campaign does not tell story, but
allows for consumers to tell their own stories, while being paired
with a Coke. As the ad evolved the use of social media and
hashtags gave the consumers the ability to share their stories via
the internet.
Coca-Cola struck gold with this campaign and became an instant success. For a
brand that has been around for over 100 years, it seems they were able to pull
themselves out of a marketing and sales declination. They did this by sticking to
what they stand for, family and sharing experiences. Coca-Cola has encouraged
sharing and friendliness through the concept of personalization. Personalization
is a big part of people’s lives in today’s society. This ad allows for people to stay
connected with the people in their lives, participate in self-expression, and
encourage consumers to care about others, while grabbing a Coke. Every year the
ad changes, but ‘Sharing a Coke’ has become a call to action for people all over the
world still. With this ad campaign Coca-Cola rose from the ashes and successfully
established one of the best campaigns in the last ten years (Tarver, 2019).
EFFECTIVE OR INEFFECTIVE?
The ‘Share a Coke’ campaign advertisement was very successful
in all aspects of marketing. Coca-Cola’s sales rose two percent in
the first year this was introduced in the United States (Esterl,
2014). The interest in Coke products rose significantly between
all generations. Providing personal cans and bottles of the soft
drink was originally meant to be for the summer of 2014, but
because the success and demand for it, it has made its way back
for the past five years. Every summer Coca-Cola improves on how
it can connect to the consumers, through song sharing, social
media creations and stickers, in an effort to build on the previous
summers’ success and every year they have been successful.
Consumers have continuously searched for their names, their
children’s names and even their coworkers names every summer,
since 2014. Coca-Cola has even found ways to continue with their
branding, even when the drink is gone. By launching stickers,
with their logo and the consumers’ name, that can be removed
and placed on objects such as notebooks and cellphones.

3. References
Esterl, M. (2014, September 25). 'Share a Coke' Credited With a Pop
Sales. Retrieved May 06, 2019, from
https://www.wsj.com/articles/share-a-coke-credited-with-a-pop-in-
sales-1411661519
McQuilken, T. (2014, September 26). 'Share a Coke' Campaign Grows
Sales For First Time in 10 Years, WSJ Reports. Retrieved May 04, 201
from https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/coca-colas-share-
coke-campaign-grows-sales-first-time-10-years-160433/
Moye, J. (2018, May 08). Share a Coke and Share the Summer: 2018
Campaign Focuses on Special Moments. Retrieved May 10, 2019, from
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/stories/share-a-coke-and-share
the-summer-2018-campaign-focuses-on-special-moments
Shimp, T. A., & Andrews, C. J. (2013). Advertising, Promotion, and oth
aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications. (9, Ed.) Mason:
South-Western Cengage Learning.
Tarver, E. (2019, March 12). Why the 'Share a Coke' Campaign Is So
Successful. Retrieved May 06, 2019, from
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/markets/100715/what-make
share-coke-campaign-so-successful.asp
Unknown. (2012, June 22). Share a Coke campaign post-analysis.
Retrieved May 04, 2019, from
https://www.marketingmag.com.au/hubs-c/share-a-coke-campaign-
post-analysis/