One of the biggest examples of User Generated Content from the past few years is the Share A Coke campaign from Coca Cola. The campaign originated in Australia in 2011 but quickly became a global campaign. It was in 2014 that the campaign took off in the United States. This campaign has been off and on ever since, with various iterations taking place, the most recent of which taking place in the US over the holidays with a dedication to the front-line workers. 

The idea was for Coke to make the drink become a more personal experience; there’s something special about having a drink with your name on it, literally, right? I can’t say I ever truly caught on to the buzz of the campaign (I’d occasionally look for my name in the store, but nothing more than a cursory glance), but I can understand wanting to take part in something like this. Much like the White Cup Contest from Starbucks, this USG campaign mostly benefits Coca Cola. It’s their brand people are seeking out, it’s their brand people are sharing, and it’s their brand that people are buying. On Freedman’s point about UGC being cost effective advertising, all this brand has to do is print the names on the bottles, and their consumers will take care of the advertising for them. According to Investopedia, the numbers surrounding the campaign are staggering. When it launched in the U.S. in 2014, there were 250 names to choose from. That since grew to 1000 and moved beyond names to include song lyrics, holiday locations, and university logos (this I did take a photo of (but only to show my parents…)). Coke gained 25 million new Facebook likes in that year, and #ShareACoke photos were share 500,000 times. That’s just in the first year. 

Unlike the White Cup Contest, however, the consumers aren’t creating anything for the brand that could bring them recognition, but simply are getting creative with what they find. For some, the UGC evolved beyond simply finding your name on a Coke bottle but became ways to express themselves. While Coke is the big winner, the consumer does win in a way because the brand is recognizing said consumers in a more personal way. People like to feel noticed, like they matter, but often times, in the eyes of a brand, they are viewed as nothing more than the machine that provides money. With the Share a Coke campaign though, consumers feel like they matter to this brand; having them create something with your name on it (even if you share that name with millions of others) does create a certain kind of glee. As much as the brand likes to make it look the consumer is winning win it comes to UGC (and this can probably be said for most profitable UGC’s), it’s really going to be the brand coming out on top. As aforementioned, it’s the brand that’s collecting the goodwill and the money, despite how good intentioned they were with the campaign. 

Thinking on the most recent Share a Coke campaign, it’s great how they’re recognizing the front-line workers, and it must make them feel nice that they’re being recognized, but Coke is going to look good for it. The front-line workers who have done everything to help people in what can easily be described as a trying year deserve all the shout-outs, but cynically, Coke is going to be the ones taking in the money from those sharing their support. On the whole though, it is incredibly important for brands to continue to make consumers feel like they are a part of something, while continuing to generate that business, otherwise they’ll take their business elsewhere.