Delta to engage customers over Ndebele spelling mistakes

COCA-COLA is set to engage its customers across the country over incidences of misspelt names on some of its products following the "Share a Coke" campaign launched in Zimbabwe recently, an official has said.

This follows a public outcry that Delta was contemptuous of its customers' names, particularly the Ndebele ones, leading to spelling errors.

Some of the products were written Danubuhle, Sokuluthe and Khetiwe, instead of Dalubuhle, Sukoluhle and Khethiwe, respectively.

"Through this exciting campaign we seek to engage all of our consumers and appreciate any feedback as to how their names should be spelt and which additional names they would like to see," Noma Halimana, country manager for Coca-Cola Zimbabwe, said.

"We would, therefore, like to invite our customers to our experimental promotion taking place at different locations in Bulawayo and other parts of the country in order to have cans printed for them and their loved ones.

"Coca-Cola is all about sharing happiness and we remain committed to giving as many of our beloved consumers the opportunity to experience this unique campaign and to share a Coke with loved ones."

Despite Delta - the distributors of Coca Cola in Zimbabwe - saying they were looking into reports of misspelt names, more incidences have been recorded in the past few weeks.

Probably the most embarrassing was when officials from Coca-Cola, at a public function, handed a man named Dalubuhle a 330ml can of the soft drink supposedly written his name, yet it was spelt as Danubuhle.

Under the campaign, Coca-Cola is swopping out its logo on cans and 500ml and two-litre PET bottles for the 300 most popular first names among Zimbabweans.

Share a Coke, which first launched in Australia in 2011 and has since rolled out in more than 50 countries, invites fans to have their names, special phrases and the names of family members, friends, co-workers printed on bottles and cans of Coca-Cola.

The campaign, which runs on various media platforms, acts as an invitation to share a Coke with someone you know, or want to know and give people the tools to find and connect with the brand.

The Share a Coke packaging rolled out nationwide in September and will remain on the shelves through February 2015.