Use their name, literally

Sometimes the most direct method is the best.

Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” campaign is the classic example.

Coca-Cola replaced its iconic logo with hundreds of common names and suddenly, a mass-produced product felt like a personal invitation.

The shelves were the pub noise. But people saw their names, or names of their loved ones through that noise, which made them hunt their own names.

It cut through the “noise” of the beverage aisle by making the connection one-to-one.

What you can do: Group customers by tailoring promotions or product recommendations to feel “made for them.” Then, personalize email subject lines.

Make it about the each individual user

Platforms and retail stores can be noisy cocktail parties of their own.

In some cases, brands want to go deeper to grab attention. And the only thing people like hearing more than their own name is hearing others talk about them.

Strava’s “Year in Sport” campaign is a masterclass in this:

It’s a personalized highlights reel about the user’s athletic achievements. It shows their total miles, biggest climbs, and personal records.

This hyper-personal content cuts through social media clutter because it’s 100% relevant to the athlete seeing it.

It also turns users into brand ambassadors who share their impressive stats everywhere.

Localize, if possible

A person’s name might be the most relevant word, but their location is a close second.

People subconsciously filter for information that applies to their immediate environment, as one study illustrates. Researchers offered a £100 “energy tariff” saving to 500 consumers:

• Half of the recipients were told it was for the “average UK household.” Only 4% thought this was “great value.”
• The other half were told it was for “households in their city.” Over 10% called it “great value.”

That’s more than double the impact for the exact same offer.

Using “Toronto” or “Los Angeles” often acts just like hearing your name in that crowded party.

Some ideas: Digital advertisers use this with Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI), automatically adding a user’s city to a headline, for example.

You can also automate your email sequences to fetch location data from subscribers and place it into the subject line, for example. Just a suggestion, of course. But it might be worth a try.