In today’s day and age, if you’re going to a park to hang out or you see a cute dog
on the street, be sure to document it and share it. If you don’t Snapchat it, Tweet it,
share it on Facebook or Instagram, it didn’t happen. With social media tools at the
tips of our fingers 24/7, Millennials find it impossible to do anything without
sharing it with the world – their “network.” That’s because people like to stay
connected with one another, and identify with each other through the communities
that social media outlets create. Coca-Cola realized this need for a sense of
community and connection long before Instagram was hash-tagging it.
For over a century, Coca-Cola has built their empire through precisely identifying
their demographic, connecting with them through all available mediums, while
remaining consistent in their values. Since the brand was introduced in 1886, it has
promoted togetherness, family, and tradition. This tactic has firmly positioned
Coca-Cola as a household brand and an essential part of our society.
In 1994, Coca-Cola was quick to recognize the advent of digital media and its
inevitable impact. In order to stay relevant and identify with the new “space age,”
their marketing campaigns adapted computer-generated graphics in their
advertisements, introducing the now iconic polar bear. The beloved warm and
fuzzy polar bear both demonstrated Coca-Cola’s ability to adapt to it’s current
period and created a new focal point for their community to identify with.
Coca-Cola’s current campaign, “Share a Coke,” embodies the community spirit
that draws millions of New Yorkers to their social media networks daily. The idea
is simple, sweet, and relatable. Any one can “share a coke” at any time, with
whomever they want. The campaign evokes the familiar feeling of sharing
moments of one’s life with those they love, and with those they connect with on
social media. Adapting Millenial’s favorite multi-media outlets to the campaign has
popularized it, through its interactive marketing ploy that encourages sharing
Coke selfies with a personalized logo, Instagraming the location where you’re drinking it, and
tagging who you’re sharing it with.
By combining their time–tested marketing practices with people’s love for social
media, Coca-Cola is able to tackle the challenge of maintaining their brand
integrity (an attribute recently shown to be just as important to Millennials as techsavvy)
while remaining current.
With Coke in our news feeds and Instagram selfies, there have never been more ways to #EnjoyCoke than there are today.
For more “What Is Current,” check out our last installment in this section, the Chanel edition.