The Real Lesson of New Coke - 5544 Words

The Real Lesson of New Coke: The Value of Focus Groups for Predicting the Effects of Social Influence By Robert M. Schindler n April 1985, the management of Coca-Cola Co. announced its decision to change the flavor of the cotnpany s flagship brand. The events that followed from this decision, as well as the faetors which led up to it, have been reviewed, discussed, and extensively analyzed in the popular press, the trade press, and in marketing textbooks. Two books and at least two marketing cases have been written on the events surrounding the flavor change decision. Also, a well-known, but somewhat older Harvard Business School marketing case deals with some of the key events which led up to the decision. Despite the extent of this†¦show more content†¦The Attempt to Reformulate Coca-Cola T 22 he 87-year old rivalry between CocaCola, the traditional market leader, and Pepsi Cola, the perennial runner up, took an unexpected turn in the mid1970s. Pepsi s consumer research discovered in blind taste tests that a majority of consumers preferred the taste of Pepsi over thai of Coke. In fact, even a majority of loyal Coke drinkers reported preferring Pepsi in the tests. Decetnber1992 silver graphics replacing the traditional red and white look. Clearly. Coke had decided to make sure that consumers would be aware that Coca-Cola s flavor was being changed. The initial reactions of most consumers appeared to be positive. Many bottlers reported that sales of new Coke were greater than expected and. during the first few weeks after the new Coke introduction, the company s weekly survey of 900 respondents showed consumers preferring new Coke over old Coke by a margin of 53% to 47%. However, during this period, there was also intense media coverage of those consumers who did not like the new Coke and were angry about the change. In a number of cities, old Coke loyalists sponsored protest rallies and boycotts and received widespread media attention. By June, it was becoming apparent to Coke s management that consumer dissatisfaction with the reformulation was increasing. The stream of angry letters and phone calls was becoming a flood, and weeklyShow MoreRelatedIntroduc ing New Coke Case Analysis1049 Words   |  5 PagesStudent name: Md Asif Student number: 997345706 Date: 08/09/2014 INTRODUCING NEW COKE CASE ANALYSIS Background: Coca-Cola was invented by a pharmacist by the name of John Styth Pemberton, in 1885 the brand was registered as a trademark. In 1892 Candler formed the Coca-Cola company in Atlanta, later it was sold to Ernest woodruff for $25 million. Under the leadershipRead MoreRacial Prejudice In To Kill A Mockingbird1564 Words   |  7 Pagesand teaches a variety of lessons that the characters learn throughout it. Harper Lee implements the motif of Boo Radley, the symbol of Mr. Dolphus Raymond’s Coca-Cola, and the secondary character Tom Robinson to portray the powerful theme to look for the truth about another person and their personality before trusting rumors and forming any rash or biased opinions of them. The motif of Boo Radley is a key factor in the process of the children learning the valuable life lesson of avoiding the judgementRead MoreNew Coke Failure3901 Words   |  16 PagesFailure of New Coke Wright State University MKT 3500 - 01 Marketing Research By Nicole Fore Taylor Gilliam Ashley Hatton John Petry Abstract During the 1980’s Coca-Cola was faced with a potentially company killing problem. They were losing market share quickly to their competitors. Pepsi was stealing a portion of the younger generation with their advertising campaign, and they proved that consumers liked Pepsi better with the â€Å"Pepsi Challenge.† To combat their falling market share Coke decidedRead MoreRichard Fosters Book, Innovation: The Attackers Advantage1441 Words   |  6 Pagessuccess; be ready to change it and find something better. Business is not all about strictness and order. Sometimes one has to be creative and switch things up. For instance, after 87 years of going toe-to- toe, Coke finally altered its formula to match Pepsi, and that action alone is why Coke is one of the biggest soft drink companies in the world (Foster, 1986). One may be then, know what the customer wants, but the truth is not all customers know what they want. Never base an entire operation onRead MoreEssay New Coke1970 Words   |  8 Pagesless drastic alternatives? 5 5. Understanding your Loyal Customer 6 6. Conclusion 7 Reference 8 1. Introduction Coke was invented by Dr. John Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist and his three-legged brass pot all the way back in 1886; by 1985 Coke was closing in fast on its centennial anniversary. (Cook, 2002) Coke along with the legendary chairman Roberto C. Goizueta had witnessed a remarkable set of accomplishments during the 1980s. There were some creeping problemsRead MoreNew Coke : Failed Project Or Marketing Ploy?2243 Words   |  9 PagesNew Coke: Failed Project or Marketing Ploy? In April 1985, Coca-Cola announced that it would be completely replacing its old recipe of Coke with â€Å"New† Coke. After several weeks customers started to protect this decision demanding that they go back to the original recipe. After three months, the Coca-Cola Company decided to reverse its original decision and kept the old Coke in production along with New Coke. Despite being reintroduced as Coke II, the new soda never caught on and was eventuallyRead MoreCoca Cola s Social Media Strategy Essay1459 Words   |  6 Pagessoft beverage Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is an example of a cultural item that is repeatedly displayed in American television shows, movies, and other forms of media that are viewed throughout the world. For example, according to Kevin Shively, author of â€Å"Lessons from Coca-Cola’s Social Media Strategy: Cohesive Campaigns and Creative Content† on Simplymeasured.com, â€Å"Interbrand ranks them as the third largest global brand in the worl d†. Furthermore, this cultural item reflects the idea of wealth and luxuryRead MoreCompany Analysis : Kraft Foods2098 Words   |  9 Pagesycles† material that otherwise would’ve gone to a landfill. TerraCycle reuses packaging to make new, useful products. Today, Kraft Foods is the largest sponsor of TerraCycle â€Å"brigades† – collection points – with more than 30,000 Kraft Foods-sponsored locations, and nearly seven million people signed up to collect waste across the United States at these locations. The program has been so successful that it has expanded internationally to the United Kingdom and Canada, and there’s more in the worksRead MoreEconomic Models Are False And So Government Should Ignore Their Predictions1469 Words   |  6 Pageselasticity will be greater. Consumers can easily switch from one good to another even if there is a small change in price because there are other substitutes available. For example, Coke and Pepsi, McDonald’s and Burger King Hamburgers, or Colgate and Pepsodent toothpastes. If the price of coke increase then the demand for coke will decrease and consumer will switch to pepsi because of its low cost. Consumer income also affects the elasticity of demand. The demand is elastic for low income groups becauseRead MorePepsi Refresh Project : A Thirst For Change1301 Words   |  6 Pagesenvironment are those that exploit the many opportunities presented by the new media while keeping an unwavering eye on their brand promise. In 2010, Pepsi embarked on a pioneering marketing experiment in social media, abandoning its long-standing affiliation to traditional advertising media-primetime television. Pepsi, in my opinion, met both success in some quarters and failure in some quarters at the same time, learning important lessons in how to leverage this powerful media in the long run. Identification