It's All About Me!

From Coca-Cola to Lego, companies are banking on the "Me Selling Proposition" to revitalize their brands.

Last month, Australia went crazy. It had nothing to do with the usual summer cricket rivalries, nor did it involve a visit from the Queen. This time, the frenzy was over newly released cans of Coke. A local agency had dreamed up an entirely new way of revitalizing the 125-year-old brand, reversing its steadily declining sales and tapping into the diminishing youth market.

During the first stage of the campaign, 150 different Coca-Cola cans were released, each with a different name. Using the most popular names in Australia--Jack, William, Isabella, and Chloe--as well as the usual Johns, Steves, Marys, and Matildas, each name was written boldly on the can in the iconic Coke font. As soon as word got out, a whole lot of people headed straight for the soft drink shelves in grocery stores across the country, everyone searching for their very own branded Coke can.

The second stage involved 18 Westfield shopping centers, where you could go to have your name printed on your cans. The lines were so long, people waited for hours just to have their own name printed on the can.

In the 1970s, advertising was all about finding the USP, or Unique Selling Proposition, in a brand. In the 1980s, it shifted to an ESP, or an Emotional Selling Proposition. Now it's about the MSP generation--the Me Selling Proposition. This is a generation that believes it's all about them; hardly surprising when they've grown up in an environment where everything from screensavers to T-shirts are perfectly personalized.

Recently, the Japanese postal service took the lead in releasing personalized stamps. No more pretty cherry blossoms, iconic buildings, or national heroes on the country's stamps. Now you can head directly to Japan Post's website, where you can design your very own stamp. The entire process happens within seconds and, in next to no time, you can print off your portrait with...

[Source: Fast Company]