In  January,  Coca-Cola swapped its iconic logo with some  popular names among  Nigerians when  it launched the Share a Coke campaign. Quickly the campaign  inspired  a sharing frenzy among consumers who were excited to  share the moment with people that matter most to them.   Adjudged as one of the best marketing campaigns, Share a Coke has continued to delight consumers and occupy the front burner of discourse in the marketing world.   In this interview, Patricia Jemibewon, Marketing Director, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited sheds more light on why the campaign resonates with  consumers  and why  Coca-Colacontinues to evolve and stay ahead of trends.

The carbonated soft-drink market in Nigeria is keenly competitive with several brands and products jostling for patronage. What unique selling proposition has helped Coke maintain market leadership?

First of all,  Coca-Cola is acknowledged globally as  an  exceptional beverage  for its quality and taste, and consumers love it.  I am sure you  would agree with  that.  This fact, coupled with our  ever-evolving  marketing and advertising campaigns  that continually strengthens the emotional bond between the brand and its consumers,has  driven  of the brand’s success over the past 128 years.

Share a Coke  was  launched  in Australia since 2011. Why did it take you this long to bring the idea to Nigeria?

Share a Coke  is a marketing campaign that  transforms the global Coca-Cola brand into a special, personal experience for our consumers. By swapping our iconic Coca-Cola logo with personal names, we give our consumers a unique opportunity to connect and share their personalized Coke with the people who matter the most to them- friends, family and loved ones, either in person, or virtually.     The campaign has  been  launched in more than 70 countries since 2011 and, I believe, more countries will still launch it in the months ahead. We felt that this is the right time to launch the campaign in Nigeria and, from the response it has continued to receive from Nigerians, I think one can safely say there could not have been a better time than now for  the  Share a Coke campaign to launch in this market.

How will you gauge the reception of Share a Coke  in Nigeria?

There  are  many marketing metrics being used to  gauge  our  consumers’  reaction  to any campaign.  So there  are some scientific  indices;  there are some softer  indices. Again, at the end of the day, it’s  all  about delighting our consumers, so we look at the responses  we get from everyday people  to assess how well they connect with the campaign.  And I can tell you that the  Share a Coke  campaign  is  not onlygenerating  a lot of buzz; it is also strengthening consumer connection and affinity to Coca-Cola as a brand.

Patricia Jemibewon

Share a Coke  has been an amazing campaign to work on, probably the most fun    . The reason it’s fun is  the exceptional  consumer response. So everything from going into a store  to see everybody clamour for Coca-Cola has been incredible!

We saw two girls hugging  and jumping for joy  when they saw their names!

Even online,  it is trending; I’m  sure  when  you go to #ShareaCokeNG, you will see   responses. We have seen people proposing with bottles of personalized Coke!These responses help us with insights on how consumers are taking it and  assist us to  measure  the success of the campaign.

How do you intend to meet up with the rise in demand this campaign could generate/is generating?

One, it is available across all  of  our packs, so anywhere you can find your Coca-Cola, now you can find this special pack with  a  name on it. Two, we have an experiential campaign that is going on a tour of Nigeria. So if you haven’t found your name or the name of someone very special to you, you can go to any of our experiential campaigns and get one specially made  for you  or the person special to you. The tour is live now and you can go to  www.shareacoke.com.ng  to find out where we are.

What is the cost implication of personalizing Coke and how do you intend to recoup this?

We have  come out with  this campaign with the consumer in mind, so we haven’t put any additional charges; whatever you will pay for your  bottle or can of Coca-Cola  is how much you will pay for this special Coke with your name on it!  The whole idea is to give back to our consumers and celebrate them.

It has been over  two  months  since this innovation was launched in Nigeria. What has been the impact on your sales volume?

Like I said it has been an amazing campaign to work on  and we are very pleased with the  multiple points of impact – it is strengthening the interaction between our brand and consumers and enabling consumers to experience Coca-Cola a very personal way. Inevitably  one can tell that the campaign is driving sales for the brand, but beyond that it is building stronger brand love and consumer loyalty for Coca-Cola.

How are you managing distribution to deepen penetration and ensure that consumers in all parts of Nigeria get a taste of their personal Coke?

Fortunately, at Coca-Cola we have, I dare say, the largest and most effective distribution systems in the country; and we have leveraged this to ensure that consumers in every village and hamlet across the experience the Share a Coke campaign by getting their personalized Coca-Cola packs in glass or PET bottles and cans without stress.

For consumers who are yet to find their names, what are the plans to meet their expectations?

There are  options  available,  one  option is to go to the experiential activation, like I said, we have a tour around Nigeria going on right now, we knew that we couldn’t capture the diversity of the entire Nigeria in the names that we put on our packs, so we have made them available through the experiential  activation  whereconsumers can get their  customized  packs  on request.  The tour  locations are available at  www.shareacoke.com.ng.  Another option  is  for a consumer to create virtual Share a Coke cans through an online portal  on  the same website.  You can actually create  your  own  digital cans  and share  online  with your friends and loved ones.

What will it take to bring the tour to my village?

Your village just might be on our route plan already. So, don’t lose hope!

What plans are in place to sustain the concept?

We are listening to our  both  consumers and  our creative genie.  So, temper your curiosity… and continue to Share a Coke!