COCA-COLA: THE COMPANY > THE DRINK

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Thought this article was on Coca-Cola?

It is…

When someone mentions Coca-Cola, the first thing that comes to mind for most people is the refreshing beverage that so many people have come to love.

What people forget is every single “Brand”, in the list above, is a Coca-Cola beverage.

Yes, every single one.

Company Overview

In July 1886, pharmacist John Stith Pemberton from Columbus, Georgia invented the original Coca-Cola drink. The drink was advertised as a headache relief drink and was intended to be primarily sold in drug stores as a medicinal beverage. (Source)

Since then, Coca-Cola has become much more than just a drink. Instead, Coca-Cola - formally The Coca-Cola Company - is a “Multinational beverage corporation”.

It’s important you recognise that when I mention Coca-Cola in this article, I’m not referring to the carbonated beverage. I’m referring to the $266 billion-dollar corporation that expertly manufactures, retails and most importantly markets various different billion-dollar brands.

Coca-Cola is the world’s largest beverage company and has come up with arguably some of the best marketing strategies the world has ever seen. (Source)

So let’s break them down.

Breaking Down The Strategy

There are a few things that Coca-Cola do better than anyone else…

In fact, there are many things. None more important however than their ability to connect with their consumers and drive demand for their original products.

The most sold Coca-Cola beverage every year?

The “Coca-Cola Classic”.

Don’t get me wrong, there are various reasons for this. But the way Coca-Cola has been able to maintain such a loyal audience and keep a buzz around their classic drink year after year is something truly spectacular.

There have been many campaigns Coca-Cola has run over the years to deepen their connection with their consumers and create that buzz. None highlight how effectively they do this more than their “Share a Coke” campaign.

The “Share a Coke” Campaign:

If you’ve never seen the “Share a Coke” campaign, then where have you been the last 5 years?

The “Share a Coke” campaign was a piece of marketing genius and a groundbreaking success. The basis behind the campaign seems simple. Coca-Cola simply re-positioned the traditional Coca-Cola logo and substituted it with the slogan “Share a Coke”, followed by a person’s name.

However, the campaign was so much more than just a simple change in their packaging. It was one of the best pieces of marketing the food & drink industry has ever seen. This campaign ticked all the boxes of marketing; it had it all.

• Personal connection with consumers - The campaign allowed Coke to connect with its customers in a way like never before. What is more personal than having your name on a Coke bottle? This is without mentioning the fact people are obviously going to buy a bottle that literally has their name on it!Wondering how so many people found bottles with their names on them? Coca-Cola researched the most common names in each region prior to the campaign; to ensure there was a high amount of people seeing their names on bottles.

• Leveraged the power of social media - Although, the campaign’s main focus wasn’t on social media. Coca-Cola encouraged consumers to spread the word about the campaign on socials using the #shareacoke hashtag - the perfect use of a CTA - and the results were phenomenal.More than 500,000 photos were shared using the #shareacoke hashtag and Coca-Cola gained 25 million Facebook followers as a result of the campaign. (Source) At the end of the day who wouldn’t want to share it on their socials when they finally found a Coke bottle with their name on it!

• Created an experience - They created an experience that was worth sharing - both on social media and in real life. People would buy cans not only with their own name on them but with the names of their friends. Coke didn’t just connect themselves with their consumers, no, they connected friends, families and loved ones through the experience of drinking Coke. Their advertisement below did an exquisite job of embodying exactly what was happening in real life.

As previously stated, the campaign was a huge success. The consumption of the popular drink increased by 7% in less than a year after release and for the first time in more than a decade, the brand managed to raise sales by more than 2.5% because of it. (Source)

The campaign held so much more than quantitative values. Coke connected people all over the world with this campaign. So much so that the “Share a Coke” campaign is still ongoing to this day.

Now they vary the personalisation with logo’s, states, schools and anything else that connects people - you can even personalise your own online.

The Lessons

There are so many lessons that can be learnt from Coca-Cola and the “Share a Coke” campaign.

But I think one way to summarize them all, is to remember to be more than just a “product”. Coca-Cola does this in many ways:

• Coca-Cola isn’t just a drink - It’s a huge corporation that expertly manufactures and markets beverages. They are not defined by the Coca-Cola drink. They are so much more than that. I’d go as far as to say if Coca-Cola - the drink - was outlawed, The Coca-Cola Company would still be a huge corporation.

• Coca-Cola isn’t just a drink - It’s an experience. This was something clearly highlighted in their “Share a Coke” campaign. Coca-Cola wasn’t looking to provide people with a drink, they provided them with an experience and connected people all over the world.

How to implement it

To have a successful business, a great product or service is essential. To be an exceptional business, you have to be more than just a product or service.

Don’t get me wrong. Being more than just a product or service isn’t easy. In fact, it’s probably one of the hardest things to do in the business world. However, the businesses that nail this, are somewhat destined for greatness.

Here are some things to think about:

• How can you provide your customers with an experience; rather than just a product?

• What’s your brand’s vision and mission?

• Why does the world need your business?

I can’t map out exactly how your business can become more than just a product. But answering these questions will be a great start!

This has been a breakdown of Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy. I hope you have learned something and can implement a similar strategy into your business!

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I’ll see you next Sunday!