Case Study: Critical Review of Coca-Cola's 'Share a Coke' Campaign

This case study provides a critical review of Coca-Cola's 'Share a Coke and Share the Summer 2018' PR campaign, examining its objectives, strategies, and effectiveness. The campaign, which aimed to increase brand awareness and foster social connections, involved replacing the Coca-Cola logo with common names on bottles, encouraging consumers to share a Coke with someone they knew or met. The review analyzes the campaign's situational context, target audience, message strategy, communication tactics, and implementation across 80 countries. It also assesses the campaign's success using PR theories, identifies underlying problems and successes, and provides recommendations for future campaigns. The study concludes that the 'Share a Coke' campaign was a successful PR initiative that enhanced brand image and promoted goodwill, while also suggesting areas for improvement such as better social media engagement and targeted focus groups. Desklib provides this and many other resources for students.

Running head: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
Topic: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE PR CAMPAIGN OF “SHARE A COKE AND
SHARE THE SUMMER 2018”, BY THE COCA COLA COMPANY.
Students Name:
Student ID:
University Name:
Author Note:

1A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION:....................................................................................................................2
Discussions:................................................................................................................................2
Critical analysis of the campaign:..........................................................................................3
Situational analysis of the campaign:.....................................................................................3
Objectives:..............................................................................................................................3
Targeted Audience:................................................................................................................4
Message strategy:...................................................................................................................4
Communication tactics:..........................................................................................................4
Execution/ Implementation:...................................................................................................4
Campaign effectiveness using PR theories:...........................................................................4
Underlying problems/success for the campaign:...................................................................5
Methods and findings:................................................................................................................5
Evaluation and recommendation:...............................................................................................6
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................7
References:.................................................................................................................................8

2A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
INTRODUCTION:
Public Relations campaigns are activities undertaken by the company to achieve a set
number of goals of the company, like marketing, brand and image building and increasing
public exposure to the company and its products and services. These activities are planned
beforehand and target a specific objective (Austin and Pinkleton 2015). These activities are
used to manage public opinion about the company.
Academic Definition: PR campaigns are a series of activities, which are designed in advance,
to achieve a fixed goal for the company. They are messages sent to target audiences, to
communicate to the customers. These messages are meant to spur the customers towards a
particular viewpoint or push them into taking a specific action (Ferguson 2018).
The PR campaign chosen for the purpose of this critical review is the “Share a Coke and
Share the summer: 2018”, campaign, which is promoted by the coca coal company. A brief
overview of the campaign is as follows,
The campaign was started with the idea that a coke tastes best when shared with friends and
family, and even with strangers, this PR campaign gives an inclusive message to the
customers to embrace friends and strangers, the company wanted to portray the meaning
behind shared experiences. The campaign is in its fifth year and going strong. The main
objectives of the campaign are to increase awareness and build trust for the brand. The
campaign was carried out for the year 2018. It was carried out across 80 countries in which
coca cola operates in. The target audience for the share a coke campaign is the young crowd
(Gregory 2015).
The PR campaign was chosen for the study, since it highlights key policies and is relevant to
Objectives of this critical review. The campaign has been quite successful in generating
positive reviews.
Thesis Statement: The case study will help in understanding the PR campaign of the company
better. The case study highlights the methods and findings of this case study and proposes
recommendations for the same (Miller 2017). The critical review will focus the positives and
negatives of the campaign and help in expanding knowledge about the campaign.

3A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
Discussions:
The PR campaign of the company, “share a coke” is a successful campaign started by the
coca cola company to reach a wide audience (Botan and Hazleton 2017). The global
campaign saw a multinational marketing campaign by the company, to project its brand and
make it globally recognised. Using the case study, the following points can be briefly
elaborated from the campaign,
Critical analysis of the campaign:
This refers to the methods for the campaign and their success. The campaign consisted of
random names printed on the coke bottle instead of the coca cola logo. Customers had to find
out their names from the list of common names provided, It had the phrase “share a coke
with” followed by a random name of a person (Theaker 2017). The campaign would have
people find out these names from common list of popular names from a country, the
customers were encouraged with going out and finding the names. Thus it required people to
go and interact with other people and share a coke with them.
Situational analysis of the campaign:
The PR campaign was initially about discovering and going out and finding names of
themselves and their acquaintance’s names on the coke bottle, but later it became a idea to
share experience over a bottle of coke. The company organised various rollout measures for
the campaign including hiring the PR marketing company Ogilvy, for the campaign launch in
Australia. The company also opened up to public reactions across the board, by tapping social
media platforms (Logan 2016). The company also started promotional campaigns on the
ground for the launch.
Objectives:
The objectives of the campaign are:
 To build up a Good and successful PR campaign from the ground.
 To make the campaign relatable across many different countries so that people can
relate to the campaign
 To garner maximum attention for the brand, in the eyes of the public and increase the
success of the product on which the campaign is based.
 To build up a solid brand image of the coca cola company, by leveraging this
campaign and to reach people’s hearts about the brand and the product.

4A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
The successful rollout of the campaign, was proof that the campaign worked flawlessly. The
campaign garnered wide attention from different quarters for the innovative approach and its
ability to bring public recognition of the brand and the product (Howard 2016).
Targeted Audience:
The target audience for the campaign were the millions of coke drinkers across the 80 plus
countries across which the PR campaign was rolled out. The campaign would be a branding
exercise for the coca cola brand and would be a great PR exercise. The campaign reached out
directly to its target audience, the coke drinkers and it even encouraged new drinkers to try
out coke for the first time (Brown 2017).
Message strategy:
The message was very emotional in its setting. The persuasion techniques appealed to a wide
audience. The message, which was embedded in the bottle in the placed of the coca cola logo,
signified that the bring people theme which the company wanted to pursue (Nolte 2016).
People were asked to go out and meet new people over a bottle of coke. This strategy was to
persuade them to see the brand in its social aspect.
Communication tactics:
The PR campaign employed social media like Facebook, twitter and other social media
outlets to reach out to the wider audience. Traditional media outlets were also employed to
get the message across. The company used local as well as international media, to give a solid
platform to the launch of the campaign. People were also spread the campaign via their social
circles and involve many more (Motion, Heath and Leitch 2015).
Execution/ Implementation:
Social media outreach was the most successful in popularising the campaign. The PR
campaign was totally focused on the core message of the campaign, which was to share a
coke with another person. All, of these tactics worked to get the message across, this helped
the campaign garner widespread support. The campaign resulted in wide spread brand
recognition. For example in Australia coke sales increased by 4 percent, in the USA, sales
went up by 2 percent. Young people were deeply impacted.

5A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
Campaign effectiveness using PR theories:
The campaign was effective in using some PR theories, like the systems theory which was
responsible for making the PR personnel understand the relation between the organisation
and public who are the customers (Jugenheimer et al. 2015). The campaign also takes into
account the excellence theory of PR, which indicates, how effective PR makes organisations
effective, how it contributes to organisational functions and facilitates the smooth rollout of
any PR campaign.
Underlying problems/success for the campaign:
There were some underlying problems in the campaign, this could be the result of inadequate
PR policies and their execution. The cola industry’s practices were also questioned by some
in the media. The share a coke campaign drew criticism from some quarters for its brazenness
and introducing aerated drinks as a means of socialising across the youth. Some people and
organisations also criticised the rollout timing and overall approach of the campaign in the
current world scenario.
Methods and findings:
The “share a coke” campaign is about outreach and a brand image building exercise for the
company. The campaign emphasises the public to go out and socialise with others over a
bottle of coke. The Critical review of this PR campaign, is helpful in understanding the
border aspects of a successful PR campaign. This includes the principals and theories of a
broader PR policy framework which is showcased via this review of the campaign.
The campaign involved, ordinary people to go and socialise with others, by sharing a coke.
They were required to find out, their or other people’s names with the name printed on the
bottle and match it. This got people to socialise.
The campaign was launched in 2018, and it took place across 80 plus countries around the
world, in which the coca cola brand operates. The underlying circumstances were that, coca
cola thought of a media campaign that would help in its brand image building exercise, and
also highlight social issues and bring people together, in this conflict ridden world.
The PR campaign focused on certain strategic objectives that were vital to its successful
rollout and implementation. Some of these strategic objectives are,
1. Creating awareness: The campaign created awareness about the brand image. It was
successful in creating a good perception in the eyes of the target audience. The outreach was

6A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
positive as researched by many market surveys about the campaign (Ginesta Portet et al.
2017). It created a strong and positive image in the minds of the consumers about the coke
brand. Overall it was an effective brand awareness as well as an effective marketing exercise.
2. Affecting attitudes and opinions: Overall the outreach was successful in fostering
recognition of the brand, among the target audience. The social media outreach led to change
in opinions about the company. The opinion polls showed positive outcomes for the PR
exercise.
3. Changing behaviours: The campaign helped change behaviours of individuals. Its social
and engaging nature meant people were encouraged to forgo differences and embrace each
other regardless of social and economic status. (Botan 2017). The campaign aimed at
reducing conflict and bringing people and communities together.
On the ground, the campaign involved local and community members in outreach efforts.
The media was heavily used. The message was that of bringing people together and making
new friends over a bottle of coke.
Social media was made as a string platform for the program. Various promotional activities
were carried out to increase popularity for the campaign. Advertising firms were asked to
promote the campaign.
The target audience was determined as the young and hip audience who were the primary
focus group of the campaign (Gregory 2016). The participation of the youth was vital to the
campaign’s success.
The campaign had a time frame of a year and was spread across many global markets.
Persuasion tactics involved influencing people to approach and take part. Promotional
activities and events were organised to implement the campaign.
The campaign was widely praised by the PR trade publications which gave critical
acclimation to the entire PR campaign and it received wide recognition for its innovative
approach and new concept.
Evaluation and recommendation:
The share a coke campaign was a successful PR exercise. It built up the brand image of the
company and increased awareness about the product. The campaign also successfully created
a social outreach program that has helped the brand to reach its target customers. The

7A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
campaign promoted goodwill among the customers, created a positive vibe with the
communities, it built strong relationship with the customers. It raised awareness about the
brand and the products, however the campaign could also have targeted certain focus groups.
The social media campaign could also have been better, the outreach could have been more in
terms of connecting with the youth. The campaign could also have involved the critics, and
dealt with criticism in a better way by engaging the critics across all platforms.
Conclusion:
To draw a conclusion to this PR campaign, the company has launched an effective campaign.
The core message of the campaign, that is share a coke, deeply resonated across the targeted
customer base of the company. The campaign helped garner attention to the company’s
primary cola product, it was an effective exercise in brand image recognition. The PR
campaign has effectively increased the sales of the brand in the target markets. The highlights
of the campaign, which were it effective messaging and product placement. The involvement
of people by asking them to socialise and discover new friends, resonated across the young.
The core message resonated across many focus groups and helped the PR campaign
immensely. Thus the campaign was an effective and strong image building exercise of the
coca cola company.

8A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
References:
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and managing effective communication campaigns. Routledge.
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99-110). Routledge.
Brown, E.N., 2017. Public relations campaign to encourage more Iowa State University
women to run for Student Government Senate.
Ferguson, M.A., 2018. Building theory in public relations: Interorganizational relationships
as a public relations paradigm. Journal of Public Relations Research, 30(4), pp.164-178.
Ginesta Portet, X., Ordeix Rigo, E. and Rom, J., 2017. Managing content in cross-cultural
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Gregory, A., 2015. Planning and managing public relations campaigns: A strategic
approach. Kogan Page Publishers.
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Logan, N., 2016. The Starbucks Race Together Initiative: Analyzing a public relations
campaign with critical race theory. Public Relations Inquiry, 5(1), pp.93-113.
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theory (pp. 45-66). Routledge.
Motion, J., Heath, R.L. and Leitch, S., 2015. Social media and public relations: Fake friends
and powerful publics. Routledge.
Nolte, L.W., 2016. Fundamentals of public relations: professional guidelines, concepts and
integrations. Elsevier.

9A CRITICAL REVIEW OF A PR CAMPAIGN.
Theaker, A., 2017. What is public relations?. In The Public Relations Strategic Toolkit (pp.
17-27). Routledge.