The first Share a Coke challenge was to ground ourselves in teen insight and teen trending, focusing on their behaviours over the summer months.

We then needed to create a ‘story’ we could hook our visual planning process into and identify the touchpoints and environments that were relevant to communicate this campaign to our audience.

We were then ready to start the creative process, thinking about the visual platforms we had identified, the campaign values we were looking to convey and the response we were demanding from our consumers and shoppers.

Once we had aligned with the client on our visual story, it was time to begin stretching the story across all touchpoints and environments ensuring the semiotics of the visual language delivered effective consumer and shopper communications.

It was then time to test with the client’s online consumer and shopper panels, ensuring we were delivering against all layers of the brief.

The final stage in our process was creating a framework for a Visual Communication System that would deliver effectiveness across multiple markets and cultures. It was important for the IMC inspiration we delivered, to help the markets achieve their goals, so local insight and knowledge was particularly relevant.

Share a Coke delivered impressive results for the client business, both locally and globally, as well as raising the bar for success in consumer metrics and results for the brand.

The client business measures part of its success by its ability to connect a ‘one Coca-Cola’ liquid and linked idea across the globe – Share a Coke delivered this. We started with the core focus being NWEN (North Western Europe and Nordics) and over time the campaign was taken up by markets as far-flung and diverse as Asia, Latam (Latin America), US, Russia & Brazil.

Importantly for future growth, the brand successfully stemmed the decline of its Brand Love scores recruiting teens and delivering record breaking awareness for the summer 2014: IC (instant consumption) volume growth performance +1.3pp (v’s 8weeks pre campaign)

Just through the online store alone, 1.3million teens had a bottle that had been gifted to them by someone…the true essence of Share a Coke.