Coca Cola's Digital Marketing Campaign: Free, Done by Consumers

For those of you who drink Coke products (or even socialize with those who do), you've likely noticed the "Share a Coke" campaign, with branded bottles and cans that are personalized with the print: "Share a Coke with _______."

Different units say different things, like 'your mom', 'a grillmaster', 'your soulmate', 'Bob', 'Lisa', etc.

I thought it was a neat campaign but did not think much else of it, until I saw my Facebook and Instagram friends posting pictures of their Cokes. In the past, none of my friends would post a picture of such a standard, "boring", unpersonalized product. Now, however, I see it everywhere!

This article - "Coke’s Personalized Marketing Campaign Gains Online Buzz" - shares more about how their marketing campaign has gone digital, and at no cost to the company. 

Some interesting facts from the article of note:

•  125,000+ posts about the campaign across online channels from 6/02-7/14
•  96% of consumer sentiment toward campaign has been positive or neutral
•  353,000+ virtual bottles have been shared via campaign’s website

This campaign was originally launched in Australia two years ago. I wonder what took the company so long to bring the campaign over to the US - was it less popular in Australia, did the company not expect the US market to respond favorably, or were there other extraneous concerns re: manufacturing, for example? Must do some more digging on this. 

In the meantime, I will not be holding my breath for a Coke product that says 'Nami' anytime soon... :)