Social Media, Branding and Sharing. How Coke Got It Right.

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About three months ago, i saw some public figures and celebrities i follow on twitter and instagram display bottles of coke with their names written on the label. My initial thoughts were 'this is quite interesting'. Because this is the first time i have seen someones name on a fast moving consumer good. Usually the photos these celebrities displayed were two bottles. One with their names written on it and the other bottle had 'friend' or 'family' written on it. Most of these stars thanked coca cola for giving them the drinks. A few weeks after this there was a massive advertising campaign urging all of us to 'share a coke with a friend' today. In Ghana where i am, there are pretty standard names that are given to people based on the day you were born. For example if  you were born on a saturday and you are from the Akan tribe you are known as 'Kwame (boy)' or 'Ama (girl)'. 

I am a Wednesday born hence my name Kwaku. The Akan tribe is a predominant tribe in Ghana. Majority of Ghanaians speak the akan (twi) dialect fairly well although there are different variations of it as well as other tribal groups. Therefore a lot of people by default (or design) can identify their names on a coke bottle  based on the day they were born. I talked to an old colleague of mine who works at a shopping mall and he made an interesting comment on how people these days refuse to purchase coke which does not have their names written on the label. This advertising campaign has really caught on here in Ghana especially in the urban areas. As an entrepreneurship junkie, i know startups and entrepreneurs can take a thing or two from the success of this campaign and incorporate it into their own business.

1. We all like personalised products and exclusivity. Although coca cola is a mass produced product they found away to make it exclusive. This they did by typing the name of the consumer on the label. To think of it, a lot of us dispose a coke bottle when we're done drinking its content therefore you would think a name printed on a label will not make much of a difference but apparently it does. The fifteen minutes or so that a consumer has a bottle of coke in her hands with the name on it makes her feel special. The products feels exclusive for her even if she bears her name with some other 500,000 women across the country. Exclusivity is the reason why luxury goods have the nerve to charge more for their goods. Coca cola achieved this without breaking the bank. Therefore as an entrepreneur try as much as possible to personalise products and services for your consumers and clients. Sometimes exclusivity means just listening intently to the client and repeating whatever her demands are so that you're both clear on exactly what she wants. A customer feels good when he's given a listening ear and is treated with respect.
2. The fact that the coke campaign encourages consumers to share the coke added a 'feel good' factor to the campaign. We all feel good when we brighten someones day by sharing something with them and its even better when they show appreciation. Startups can also do good by helping the local communities in which they are situated to build relationships and goodwill. Consumers as part of their decision whether to purchase a product or service consider how ethically (morally) responsible a firm is as well as their environmental and corporate social responsibilities. As an entrepreneur find a social responsibility that your consumers are interested in and make a difference there. 
3. My third observation is how social media has came to play a role in marketing and advertising. You recall from the beginning of the article that i first came into contact with this campaign on instagram? Social media has the power to connect entrepreneurs and startups to thousands if not millions of people some of these audiences will be potential customers of the entrepreneur. And it cost cheaper to do an online campaign than using the traditional forms of media. A popular public figure i follow said "we are living in a world where if i didn't see the pictures on social media, then it didn't happen" and i think this statement is true. Most of our offline conversations are shaped by the things we see/read online. Now a lot of us are switching tv with youtube and there is so much talk about the 'internet of everything'. Startups must take advantage of this global media opportunity even if the business is a typical offline business. Because a lot of us bing or google stuff that we want to know more about hence it is important to have some level of online representation and credibility. Social media outlets available are endless therefore an entrepreneur can pick any two of these mediums for example twitter and tumblr and build an online audience there.