“To see your name on a big brand, it makes it personal” — Ricardo El Torro, 22 year old Coke fan

Can it really be this simple to lift sales?  When you see your name in lights – or on the bottle, as it were – you buy.  Yes, I think it is.

The Wall Street Journal has a story up in their CMO Today section last week crediting a recent marketing campaign with a 2% hike in sales.  The Share a Coke campaign slaps the names of individuals on every bottle.  “Share a Coke with James” or Sarah or David, I suppose.

Sounds like the campaign broke in the U.S. in June.  But I didn’t see anything about it until my wife and I were traveling in the United Kingdom this summer.  I gotta say – we both noticed Coke for the first time in awhile.

We all like to see a story about ourselves in the hometown newspaper.  Or today’s equivalent – Facebook.  But it’s not everyday we see the impact of the phenomenon quantified.