LO1: Share a coke Ad

Coca Cola - Share a Coke Advertising campaign

From this campaign it can be inferred that the advertisements are targeted at both genders as there are no gender stereotypes seen within the campaign plus the product is also not gender specific. The main age range which coca cola aims to market to is those of 12 and over. This is denoted by the use of the bold primary colour of red which is often seen to be appealing with younger audiences. Furthermore, it can be inferred that this product is aimed at those whom are less health conscious and lead a less healthy lifestyle as the brand coca cola is synonymous with unhealthiness and poor diet. However, the brand itself has since acknowledged this and started to promote coca cola life for this specific target market. 

The key message of the campaign is seen to be that everyone one should enjoy coca cola together and involves a social aspect as this campaign resulted in many gifting personalised coke bottles and thus increasing sales by 7% in addition to increasing traffic on their social media pages by 870% and a total of more than 18 million media impressions. (https://econsultancy.com/blog/63175-10-inspiring-digital-marketing-campaigns-from-coca-cola/)

Throughout this campaign the brand has made use of a simple colour scheme which only includes minimal colours such as red and white. The use of bright colours allows audiences eye be directed at the advertisement and the little use of text and imagery results in them focusing directly on the product itself and the meaning of the advert. As part of the minimalist look the brand as also added the hashtag 'Share a coke' on most of the media. Consequently, this results in the target market engaging directly with the product in addition to promoting the campaign and brand, in this instance this worked extremely well as the company claims to have received 998 million impressions on Twitter. Audiences were also encouraged to engage with the product as there was the option to buy personalised bottle which sold more than 150 million as well as over 730,000 glass bottles personalised via the e-commerce store being sold. Alternatively, the audiences could engage with the campaign digitally as coca cola offered the chance to share virtual named bottles which proved popular as over 17,000 were shared all of which promoted the brand and finally the audiences could physically interact with the product. This was achieved by 65 experiential stops on the Share a Coke tour.

The Share a Coke tours were a large part of the logistics of the campaign as it promoted the message across a large area. The marketing was also scheduled to be released in the summer of 2013 and 2014, this is effective because at this time it is most likely that the general public will crave a refreshing drink and coca cola is advertised as being able to fill this need. The initial promotion of the campaign was also key, this was achieved by celebrity endorsement. In  April 2013 the company released 150 names on bottles they then also sent a select few as gifts to celebrities which in turn resulted in them promoting it. However, coca cola also wanted to 'let the public discover them in store for themselves, so they could be the first to break the news on social media.' They also had where they claimed to make there fans famous and asked who they'd like to share a coke with, before revealing their messages up in lights on their famed sign in Piccadilly Circus as a result this made more people enticed to buy the product as they felt there name could be displayed on the famed sign.

Throughout the campaign various different medias are used. Most noticeably cola used digital advertising, they did this because it is easier to access larger audiences quicker and easier. However, they also used traditional methods such as billboards but still used the hashtags throughout to further promote the campaign digitally. Despite this the tv advertisements is seen to be effective as it clearly connotes the idea that coke should be shared with friends and family this is denoted by the use of family imagery and the use of the idea of an ideal self.