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Droga5 behind latest iteration of Share a Coke campaign using emoticons instead of names

share a emoticon coke longDroga5 Sydney is behind the latest iteration of the Share a Coke campaign which has been rolled out in Vietnam, using the language of emoticons instead of names on the side of bottles.

The ‘Share a feeling’ campaign, which is to run across Southeast Asia over the next 12 months, is an extension of the Share a Coke Idea which originated in Australia in 2011 and has since been used in dozens of markets around the world.

A video ad, which shows millennials expressing themselves by sharing bottles with emoticons on the labels, has been viewed 1.7 million times on YouTube since being uploaded three weeks ago.

“Emoticons have become the perfect sharing platform – for the sharing of human feelings. Emoticons transcend language barriers and have pretty much become a part popular culture across most ASEAN markets,” said Pratik Thakar, head of creative content and design excellence, ASEAN and Asia Pacific said.

In the first phase of the campaign, Coke engaged with bloggers and local celebrities to introduce the emoticon-tagged bottles as a new language that will be popular with youth. The company forged a partnership with Facebook and the largest local messaging platform, Zalo, to help the campaign spread.

In a second phase of the campaign, Coke encouraged young Vietnamese to share their own stories and will enable cans of the soft drink to be personalised at retail outlets. They will also be able to customise stickers on Zalo chat.

A four-agency team was behind the campaign. Creative agency Droga5 Sydney developed the concept and digital agency Isobar Singapore designed the emoticons and packaging labels, created the TV ad, outdoor work and social media video content, and devised the digital engagement ideas. OgilvyOne and MediaCom helped deploy the campaign locally in Vietnam.

Stan Lim, creative director at Isobar Singapore, said: “By personalising their product with names and now the ubiquitous language of emoticons, Coke and the agency team has created something that seamlessly blends online and offline behaviours, that travels across borders, that will live and grow in the virtual and in the physical world.”

Uyen Pham Na, marketing director at Coca-Cola Vietnam, added: “Share a Coke emoticons is, once again, proving our way of doing marketing with the “Consumer at heart”. I believe Coke Emoticons will be a new way for Vietnamese teens to communicate their feelings. This campaign not only brings Coca-Cola closer to our consumer but also benefits our business with promising volume increase.”

Robin Hicks via Mumbrella Asia

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