Coca-Cola is kicking off the latest incarnation of its Share a Coke program by enabling music enthusiasts to scan lyrics on specially marked bottles via the Shazam application to create lip-sync videos and share them on social, underscoring the campaign's increasingly mobile-centric focus.

The beverage marketer is ramping up for the launch of the third annual Share a Coke program, which is employing a music-heavy twist this year, thanks to a collaboration with the Shazam app. In addition to allowing consumers to visit a mobile-optimized site where they may create digital images to superimpose on customized Coke cans, the company is rolling out new lyric-stamped bottles that can be scanned via the music discovery app, unlocking a chance for fans to make a mobile music video.

?Music is such a universal passion, so we built our planning around how people interact with music and media in general,? said a spokesperson for The Coca-Cola Company. ?We are focusing heavily on social and music platforms as we continue to look at new and different ways to connect with our fans through our ?Share a Coke and a Song? campaign.?

Hitting the right notes
Coca-Cola?s 2016 summer Share a Coke campaign is aiming to inspire music enthusiasts across the nation to celebrate a mood, feeling, moment or memory with the help of its products. Beginning later this month, the brand will feature a slew of chart-topping song lyrics on the packaging of its Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero and Coca-Cola Life drinks.

In previous years, Share a Coke bottles displayed popular first names, nicknames and group names.

Coca-Cola is hoping that the song lyrics will strike an emotional chord among consumers, particularly since the chosen lyrics span a wide range of sentiments, including falling in love, moments of friendship and celebrating victory.

Consumers will be able to collect the various lyric-stamped bottles for their own collections, as well as take advantage of a new mobile-first feature this year: a social sharing opportunity.

Shazam app users can leverage the music discovery platform to scan each lyric on specially-marked signage and 20-ounce bottles, which will enable them to record a personal digital lip-sync video. Once the video is complete, individuals may share their content with social media followers using the #ShareACoke hashtag.

This brings a wholly interactive spin to this year?s version of the campaign, highlighting Coca-Cola?s commitment to using mobile to connect with younger consumers in a way that feels more organic than blatant advertising.

The beverage brand has long been a purveyor of mobile moments, and is now furthering its status as a leader in the digital marketing sector by adding the Shazam partnership to its belt.

The shareable component of the campaign also possesses a virality factor. If several individuals record engaging lip-sync videos and distribute them on social, other consumers may take notice and also spread them around, thereby increasing awareness for Coca-Cola products.

Incorporating customization
Beginning April 18, consumers will be able to visit ShareACoke.com on their mobile or desktop devices to personalize their own Coke bottles. The campaign microsite will boast a series of lyrics that can be emblazoned across customized cans, as well as a gallery of digital images that are sharable on social media.

Additionally, consumers who upload their customized creations via the #ShareACoke hashtag will have the opportunity to have them showcased on the microsite.

Fans may also choose to personalize Coke Zero and Diet Coke packaging this year.

The Share a Coke program, which first launched in 2013, has employed an increasingly more mobile-centric focus each year, pointing to the need for campaigns to tap into constant connectivity by targeting consumers? omnipresent smartphones.

Last year, Coca-Cola leveraged mcommerce to make it easy to order a customized bottle of Coke bearing a name in place of the brand?s logo and have it delivered, as part of the 2015 Share a Coke campaign (see story).

The beverage marketer also embarked on a road tour to celebrate last year?s launch, bringing more than one million customized Coke cans to over 600 stops. Consumers were able to follow the tour with live location updates via a dedicated Twitter account, @ShareaCokeTour.

The company has demonstrated commitment to using a plethora of mobile tactics for its year-round marketing as well.

A Coca-Cola executive at Mobile Marketer?s Mobile FirstLook: Strategy 2016 claimed brands that continue perfecting mobile-first advertising, location usage, payments and beacons will be noteworthy this year, with Coca-Cola leveraging all to perfect the art of storytelling on digital (see story).

?We think there?s a perfect Coke and a perfect lyric for every moment,? Coca-Cola?s spokesperson said. ?The idea behind the ?Share a Coke and a Song? Shazam experience is to give people an entirely new way to digitally connect with us by creating a personalized video inspired by the lyric found on specially marked ?Share a Coke? 20-ounce bottles and signage.

?The end result is a completely unique piece of music content that we hope fans will share with their friends and family on their social networks.?