When it comes to understanding your consumer, look
no further than the masters of marketing, Coca-Cola.
From giving Father Christmas his famous red coat, to
key presence and support on countless sporting events, Coca-Cola is synonymous
with examples of how to successfully market a product to your consumer.
Their latest campaign, 'share a Coke' positions the
brand clearly as the inclusive soft drink - moving a bottle of the fizzy stuff
from 'just a drink' to being a friend in its own right. Essentially, it just
would not be a gathering if Coca-Cola wasn't there.
So how have they managed to give this perception
across so many countries and to so many people?
Put simply, it all started with a simple piece of
Market Research. Coca-Cola identified a list of the 250 most popular names in
the UK, taking into consideration gender and ethnic make up of the UK. As the
company wanted to appeal to everyone (after all, anyone can purchase and
consumer a coke), it deliberately identified with its entire target audience.
By replacing their iconic branding on their bottles
and can with these names, they successfully engaged with their target audience
and created a 'buzz' around the campaign (for instance, I not only seek out a bottle
with names of friends/relatives, but I save the bottles too, once empty!). And
for those of you who have a rarer name than I? Don't fret - Coca-Cola thought
of that too: you can personalise your can using the virtual can app!
From here, the Share a Coke campaign gathered
momentum, with social media posting opportunities (Coca-Cola actively
encourages consumers to share their images and stories on its Facebook page
too) growing on an international basis and eventually lending itself to a
television ad, starring some of those popular names. There were even Share a
Coke events running through the summer, proving just how successful this marketing
campaign was.
So what learning's can we take from this campaign?
Firstly, including your customer (or at the very least, engaging with them)
builds a sense of camaraderie where they are an extension of your business; an
advocate, and you are part of their lives.
Secondly, through simple market research, you can
identify your target audience (on first name terms if you really want!), and
can reach out to them on a perceived individual basis.
Finally, all great marketing campaigns start with
market research. It doesn't need to be expensive and in the grand scheme
of things, is rarely that big, but the insights you can gleam from the findings
can help you to shape a marketing campaign and position your brand in a very consumer
friendly way.
So Coca-Cola has delivered yet again via an engaging
and memorable campaign and it won't be long until another one of their famous
ads graces our screens again....holidays are coming folks...
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