As Marketing Manager for the Business & IP Centre, I’m often intrigued by marketing campaigns and the impact they can have on awareness and sales.

For example, the Coca-Cola brand is one that consistently impresses me.   Because the name Chloé wasn’t popular until relatively recently, I still get excited when I manage to find anything that has my name printed on. Consequently, I’ve spent a lot of time over the past few weeks searching the Coke bottles to find one with my name on it. Which finally happened to turn up in a South London Co-op last week!

 

I’ve also ended up buying ones with friends’ names when I’ve spotted them and must have single-handedly contributed to an increase in their profit with the amount I’ve bought over the past few weeks.

However, it has been pointed out to me that it can also have the opposite effect on anyone who hasn’t had their name chosen for a Coke bottle and create a feeling of resentment. To combat this, Coca-Cola has a Facebook app which can create a bottle with any name: they are bringing in social media and creating awareness both on and offline, now really important in any marketing campaign.

For me, it’s a brilliant campaign that has raised awareness of their brand in such a simple way. It’s been reported recently that their sales figures have stalled due to consumers being more health conscious but they have achieved market share gains in the global carbonated and still beverages market.

Their Buzz ranking (YouGov BrandIndex’s measure of positive and negative things said about the brand) has gone from -5 to 1.9 which is a statistically significant shift in perception for Coca-Cola.

Personally, I think that Coca-Cola have successfully managed to create the air of being a more luxurious cola product on sale, an impressive feat considering the competition. People tend to order a ‘Coke’ rather than a cola or Pepsi, and Wetherspoon pubs still ask ‘Is Pepsi OK’? In fact, it’s drilled into you to make sure that it is mentioned every time as I know after an ill-advised 3 week attempt at being a barmaid in a Wetherspoons pub.

Coca-Cola capitalise on opportunities throughout the year. I can’t speak for everyone else but I always know that Christmas is coming when I see the advert for Coca-Cola. They actually have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas at all yet the advert, which has used the same music consistently so is instantly recognisable, signals to me that it’s time to start my shopping!

Christmas Coca-Cola truck

Despite some of the negative press that Coca-Cola has attracted and the fact it’s really not that healthy, they are a brilliant example of how important marketing and branding can be to create a company that inspires loyalty among customers. They cleverly select who to partner with and which events to sponsor. To combat the accusation of being unhealthy, they sponsor lots of sporting events such as the Winter Olympics.

It’ll be interesting to see the end results of this campaign!

If you’d like to learn the tricks of the marketing trade, come along to our monthly Online marketing masterclass held at the Centre.

Chloé Titcomb on behalf of the Business & IP Centre