I am a marketer by trade. And most days I will tell you by passion as well. I appreciate good advertising, applaud promotions that actually get me into a store and have no problem completing surveys and answering questions because I understand the underlying goal. This makes me a boring dinner date.
I am also brand loyal. To a fault. When I like a company or product I don't even consider the alternatives and when I don't, well no promotion will get me in the door. I have been drinking Coke, Diet Coke and now Coke Zero since I was in utero. I am the horrible person in the restaurant who when asked "Is Pepsi OK?" I say no and order something else. For years Coke has been my go to brand, without hesitation.
Until this past summer...
You see, I didn't want to share a Coke with my BFF or a wingman. I didn't want to think about what my high school boyfriend Zack is doing or my nemesis from elementary school Anna has going on these days. If I want to be reminded of my past I will visit Facebook on #TBT. I just want to drink a Coke Zero. In peace. No memories of people, no reminders that I don't have more friends, no suggestions for who I should interact with today. I have actually stood in convenient stores looking through the Coke bottles to find one with a name or reference that did not conjure a memory.
From a marketing standpoint this campaign was genius. Lots of opportunity for viral advertising, lots of images posted, connections created between consumer and product...from a marketing perspective they did everything right and then some. But for me, for the person, not the marketer, my loyalty eroded with every suggestion that I should share a Coke with a legend, with Jared, with Samantha. And I know I am not the only one who felt that way...