One thing that has really stuck me as a brilliant bit of marketing in the past few months is the Share a 'Coke Campaign' by the CocaCola Corporation. For those of you who are not familiar, the company has realised a batch of bottles of CocaCola with 150 of the most popular names in the country printed on the bottle with the lines 'Share a coke with (insert name here)'.
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At first it seems like a simple idea - that people will buy their brand over competitors due to the novelty of the customer having their name on the bottle. Although it doesn't stop there - the social networking sites I am subscribed to have exploded with people taking to social media to show off their name on a bottle, uploading photos and tagging friends, bringing a deeper meaning to name - "Share a coke campaign" and all of which is free advertising for the CocaCola Corporation.
This is not all a happy coincidence either and Social Marketing can be considered to be the end goal from the beginning. The company has been encouraging customers to "Send us a photo of you sharing a Coke on Twitter @cokezone with #shareacoke." and even created a Facebook application to allow people to make there own personalised can.
The idea is delightfully simple and pure genius. A outstanding example of Relationship Marketing at its most basic level, what could make your customer value your product more than having their name on the very packaging it comes in. From a physiological perspective it identifies with the customer and makes them feel as if they own it already and therefore they have to pay because its theirs.
I feel this campaign shows the beauty of good marketing, just a simple idea can put a product at advantage against competitors. If something gets people talking, sharing and makes its way to social media then your onto a goldmine - all at proportionately, very low cost.
Sources:
http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/faq/products/share-a-coke.html
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/Coke-Share-Campaign-051513.aspx
Berry, Leonard (1983). Relationship Marketing. American Marketing Association, Chicago. p. 146. ISBN 0-87757-161-9.
http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1180359/coke-boss-salutes-brave-personalised-bottle-campaign
