Share a coke campaign

Categorised in: Blog

Sharing Uniprint’s journey in the Share a Coke campaign

The South African edition of the Share a Coke campaign ran from September 2013 to February 2014 and required 600 names printed across 100 million labels in an extremely complex project.

Partnering with Coca-Cola South Africa (CCSA):

Coca-Cola turned to their South African printing partners, Uniprint who had been printing flexographic wraparound labels and short run digitally-printed packaging for CCSA for some time.

“Initially, we looked at options that included importing. However, we finally decided on the longer-term benefits of partnering with a local printer to bring advanced digital technology to our shores,” said CCSA’s Marketing Director, Sharon Keith.

Uniprint managed to keep up with the demand of CCSA’s gargantuan project by growing their internal processes and installing new equipment as the project progressed.

Collaborating with CCSA’s bottlers:

While CCSA may have initiated the campaign, they had no control over the volumes or capacities of their individual bottlers. This required Uniprint to liaise with the bottlers in order to ascertain how many labels each would need.

The collaboration extended beyond the numbers and into the realm of quality testing, requiring both parties to communicate closely to achieve the best possible outcome.

In conclusion:

The success of the campaign could mean further developments in personalised labelling as a marketing medium. An exciting prospect which, given the opportunity to develop further, will undoubtedly see Uniprint at the helm.

Uniprint General Manager, Leal Wright, reflected on the project saying, “The Share a Coke campaign was a printing project unlike any other that has been undertaken by a South African printing company and although we incurred some unexpected costs during the learning curve, we wouldn’t change the process”.
Ready to embark on your own printing success story? Contact us today and let’s bring your campaign to life!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What was the Share a Coke campaign in South Africa?
The Share a Coke campaign was a personalised packaging initiative that replaced traditional Coca-Cola branding with individual names. In South Africa, the campaign required 600 names to be printed across approximately 100 million labels, creating a highly complex personalised printing project.

2. When did the Share a Coke campaign run in South Africa?
The South African Share a Coke campaign ran from September 2013 to February 2014. During this period, Uniprint worked with Coca-Cola South Africa and its bottlers to produce the personalised labels required for the campaign.

3. Who printed the labels for the Share a Coke campaign in South Africa?
Uniprint partnered with Coca-Cola South Africa to produce labels for the Share a Coke campaign. The company already had experience producing flexographic wraparound labels and short-run digitally printed packaging for Coca-Cola South Africa.

4. How many personalised labels were printed for the Share a Coke campaign?
The South African campaign involved approximately 100 million labels featuring 600 different names. Managing this volume and level of personalisation required careful production planning, digital printing capabilities and coordination between Uniprint, Coca-Cola South Africa and individual bottlers.

5. How were personalised Coca-Cola labels printed?
Personalised Coca-Cola labels required digital printing technology capable of efficiently producing multiple names and variations. For the South African Share a Coke campaign, Uniprint expanded its internal processes and installed additional equipment as the project progressed to meet the campaign’s requirements.

6. Why was digital printing important for the Share a Coke campaign?
Digital printing made it possible to produce numerous personalised label variations without relying solely on conventional printing processes designed for identical high-volume runs. This flexibility was particularly important for a campaign involving hundreds of different names across millions of labels.

7. What were the main printing challenges of the Share a Coke campaign?
The project required Uniprint to manage large production volumes, hundreds of personalised names, varying requirements from individual Coca-Cola bottlers and extensive quality testing. Close communication between the printer, Coca-Cola South Africa and the bottlers was therefore an important part of the production process.

8. What did the Share a Coke campaign demonstrate about personalised packaging?
The campaign demonstrated how personalised packaging can combine large-scale production with individualised branding. It also highlighted the potential of digital printing technology to support personalised labelling campaigns that create a more direct connection between brands and consumers.