The best marketing campaign of summer 2014 is…

With all of our newsfeeds being flooded (pun intended) with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, many would argue that the Ice Bucket Challenge was the best campaign this summer. But, in my opinion, Coke’s “Share a Coke” campaign wins that title.

Let’s face it; the success of Ice Bucket Challenge involved a lot of luck. It is a silly, modern-day version of chain mail; very few (if any) brands will be able to replicate this campaign with success before we grow tired of the trend.

Alternatively, “Share a Coke” is not only widely successful, but it is based on marketing principles that assure long-term success that SMBs can learn from and replicate in their own campaigns.

Marketing lessons from Share a Coke

Yes, Coca-Cola is one of the largest companies in the world, but you don’t need Coke’s budget to make a phenomenal campaign like “Share a Coke.” You just need to follow key content marketing principles:

Know your audience

People love their names on things and Coke took advantage of that. They even took it a step further and accommodated those of us who have uncommon names or spellings by creating generic “friend” cans and allowing you to personalize your own bottle.

Have a strong CTA

Coke named their campaign after their CTA – can’t get much more obvious than that. To top it off, they crafted ways to make sure you share. At the Minnesota State Fair, Coke had vending machines where you could personalize cans for free. But wait, you were required to get two cans and in doing so, they made sure people shared Coke by putting someone else’s name on a can.

Harness the power of user generated content

“Share a Coke” has duel meanings; it means physically and digitally share a Coke. Not only is Coke capitalizing on people buying an extra can of Coke with their friends’ names on them, but people are also sharing photos and videos of the cans online. Even baby announcement videos. I have seen more customers promoting “Share a Coke” on social media than the Coca-Cola Company. That is something all campaigns should strive toward.

“Share a Coke” is a success because Coca-Cola understands its audience and how it can play a role in their lives. If you want to replicate the success of “Share a Coke,” take a serious look at your brand – who you are, who you want to be and who your audience thinks you are; the best campaigns are the ones where a brand takes advantage of their voice, personality and values.

If you don’t know what your brand voice, personality or values are, we can help. Download our eBook, “Best Practices in Social Media,” to learn about creating and showcasing your brand. And in honor of sharing, use the code BLOGSAVE5 to save $5 on the eBook.