Introducing the New Coke free essay sample

What is the case about? This case study is the story of Coca-Cola, its history and the report about one of the most fascinating stories about the company this is still regarded by many as a mysterious case: â€Å"the introduction of the new Coke†. The author Susan Fournier, in the case study went on by presenting the history of the Coca-Cola Company: how the company started and how throughout its history it became a brand, a part of everyone’s life both nationally and globally. Anecdotes and little stories were told about how Coca-Cola became a part of the American Culture, it how it changed the way consumers around the world perceived the Christmas holiday (Coca-Cola Classic Santa Claus). Midway through the case study, the author introduced what is still perceived today as one of the most intrigued case studies: the way Coca-Cola handled one of its competitors, Pepsi-Cola, and the introduction of the new Coke. The author walked us through how with marketing research, product testing (The Pepsi Challenge) and effective advertising, Pepsi-Cola was able to introduce itself in the American culture. Pepsi became Coca-Cola’s fierce competitor and started getting a growing share of the market of soft drinks. Blinded by internal and other distractions, Coca-Cola was caught by surprise when introduced â€Å"the Pepsi Challenge†, a series of blind tests where potential consumers tasted both Pepsi and Coke, with the results concluding that Pepsi had a better taste than Coke. Coca-Cola quick called the move false advertisement and conducted its own blind test only to realized what was already stated. Referring to the study case, Coca-Cola was more than a beverage company, it became a part of culture and politics, it changed the way Americans viewed Christmas, and it went global†¦ I think that Coca-Cola is not only in the beverage business, but also in entertainment, memory sharing, it provides nostalgia, a sense of ownership, pride, personality and belonging to its consumers, mostly in the US. Coca-Cola business is to offer a fun, memory-inspiring sweet beverage. 3. What was Coca-Cola’s brand building strategy? Where did Coke’s meanings come from? How did Coke’s meanings make a connection to consumers and to Christmas? Coca-Cola’s brand building strategy started first by finding its target, which early in its history was the non-alcoholic drinker. Shortly after the acquisition of the company by Griggs Candler who’s dream was â€Å"to place Coke within arm’s reach of desire wherever there are people who get thirsty†; Coca-Cola started building his brand. The strategy then was focused around: availability, affability and acceptability of its target public. To provide he aforementioned, the company focused on the price value of the product, preference and penetration. By connecting to their consumers constantly and effectively through excellent advertising, Coca-Cola was able to provide brand loyalty. With diversification within the company’s products, the brand was able to stay relevant throughout time. Coca-Cola meanings came from various sources, most notably the changes in the culture in the United States in the 1900s. The company quickly adapted to the social and cultural changes like pop culture; throughout artwork, they were able to reach the heart of America’s youth. The company was able to take advantage of the current events; most notably the world war which helped the company’s being global. The story of coke and Santa Claus was a strong example of how Coke’s meanings made a connection to Christmas and forever associated itself with America’s youth. In the early 1900s, Santa Claus was represented in various ways to the American audience: the saint was illustrated in blue, yellow or green; sometimes he was tall or was an elf. Coca-Cola hired an artist, Haddon Sundblom, who, in 1931, created the Coca-Cola classic Santa Claus. The caricature presented everything about the brand: it was bigger than life and joyful. With his illustrations and those awaited yearly Christmas ads, the artist and Coca-Cola shaped the way we, the consumers view Santa today. 4. What was Pepsi’s meaning management game? Was it really a threat to Coke? How should have responded to Pepsi’s meaning making advances? Pepsi’s meaning management game was totally different from Coke’s; it had to be in order to survive. Pepsi’s strategy was focused more on the user, rather than the product. By identifying itself to its target, the new generation, Pepsi was able to channel its message. The â€Å"Pepsi generation† ad campaign was a great reason for the growth of the brand. I believe that Pepsi was starting to become a concern, not a threat to coke. In my opinion, Coca-Cola’s mistakes were what help Pepsi’s growth to a certain degree. I believe that, if Coca-Cola took the time to keep an eye and research the competition and hire the right talent for the right positions, instead of focusing on internal problems reported by the case, it would have been better equipped to respond to Pepsi’s meaning making advances. I believe that they Coke should have stuck to their position and reinforce their position in the market that was already theirs, while developing news ways to adapt to the new trends of the culture in America. In terms of brand loyalty, Pepsi was nowhere near Coke, therefore Coke should of use that fact and keep on growing, because the brand was already established as a part of American lives, something that Pepsi, even with their meaning, wasn’t able to surpass. 5. What do you make of Keough’s marketing insights and Goizueta’s famous speech as chairman? What were their core assumptions, their mandates? Is this the stuff brand meaning makers are made of? I believe that Goizueta’s famous speech, although rejuvenating was not the right course of actions for the company because he was totally wrong in his assessments which were: †¢ Statistical results that led him to believe that Coca-Cola distribution process was not the best †¢ He also believed that the company’s marketing strategy was not good enough †¢ He kept comparing his company to others Although to a certain degree he might have been right, he failed miserably in assessing what was working for its company which was its brand. In terms of brand meaning making, he was not the right talent, he lacked perspective because he should have known that you do not change a winning team in the face of adversity, you tweak it. I believe that no matter what the company is going through, if the brand management is strong the company can surpass any obstacles because with a strong brand, the consumers will keep on coming, it is a matter of nourishing the success of that brand, hence always ocus on the consumer and find ways to keep him happy. 6. Hindsight is indeed 20/20, but putting bias aside, what major factor do you think caused the failure of the new Coke launch? Do you think it was the product, the process or both? I believe that the failure of the launch of the new Coke was cause by the â€Å"new product† and its process. I think the major factor of the failure was th at they high administration of the company reacted emotionally to their competitor and ended up losing their identity by trying to come with a new product to present to the consumers. The company should use the formula that it had been using since the beginning of the 19th century, adapt to the consumer desire. In addition, I believe that the company didn’t handle the introduction of the new coke to the public well. They had put their focus on the wrong aspect: advertising, thinking that a strong campaign will help encourage the consumer to adopt the new product; an assessment that was totally wrong. Meanwhile, the consequence was Pepsi being able capitalize on these mistakes, because they had figure out that they need a constant eye on the competitor in order to better adapt. . Coca-Cola invested $4 million researching the reformulation, yet they still got it very, very wrong. Keough claims that â€Å"all the time and money and skill poured into consumer research on the new Coke could not measure or reveal the deep and abiding emotional attachment to original Coca-Cola felt by so many consumers, the passion for original coke†¦ it is a wonderful Ameri can enigma, and you cannot measure it any more than you can you can measure love, pride or patriotism. † Is Keogh right? If so how can you manage it if you can’t measure it? By focusing on the user in its early ages, along with keeping in touch with the socio-cultural and political changes throughout the years in society, Coca-Cola was able to build a strong an effective brand. The brand became a part of life of every American to the point that some consumers referred to drinking Coke as a patriotic act. I believe that Keogh was right in his assessment. Yes, indeed it is difficult, may be impossible to measure, but manageable. In my opinion, with the loyalty of the consumers, the brand already had a tremendous asset; managing the brand and keep the product in the mind of the consumers was how I think that Coca-Cola could manage the emotional attachment of the consumers. 8. What does the case reveal about how brand meanings are developed and cultivated? From the brand management strategies of both Coca-Cola and Pepsi, the case revealed some great insights about how brand meaning are developed and cultivated. Below is a list of what I believe are key concepts narrated in the case that proves this assessment: †¢ Cultural awareness: being able as a company to keep track of what is going on the society in the means of culture, politics, social and other factors †¢ The focus on the consumer: by being able to focus on the consumer and the research of its environment, the companies were able to cater to them, hence producing economic growth Using the right tools: in the case of Coca-Cola, using everything that is available to the consumer to be able to reach out to your audience. †¢ Marketing research and consumer behavior: with the Pepsi challenge, the company was able to build a whole strategy that focused on its target, the new generation, which help the company climb the mountain of success and relevance in the eyes of the public. 9. What can you draw from the case that relates to consumer culture and its impact on consumer behavior? A couple of anecdotes in the case can help draw the relation to consumer culture and its impact on consumer behavior. In the early 1900s it was about freedom, American society and a sense of freedom, Coca-Cola responded by advertising their product has being fresh and a provider of freedom; the consumers would then easily connect to that. The idea of selling Coca-Cola overseas to the troops while the world was at war brought a sense of patriotism and ownership to the product, consumers then felt a sense of safety and pride when drinking a coke. The Christmas ads were also another example, by caricaturing Santa as a hard worker who brings gifts to the kids, the youth was able to connect and by rewarding Santa with a Coke after a night of hard work, parents could also relate. These are prime examples narrated throughout the case that relates to consumer culture and its impact on consumer behavior. 10. What does the case suggest about conducting marketing research and consumer perception? The story on how Pepsi began to grow his brand is an excellent example of marketing research and consumer perception. At the time, Pepsi was able to research the behavior of the baby boomers, who back then, were considered the new generation. Pepsi was able to identify itself to this group and allowed these consumers to feel a sentiment of identity. Pepsi product testing also helped them in their research. As it is reported in the case, Pepsi capitalized on the results of these blind tests conducted on both Pepsi and its competitor. The company was able to build a strategy around its research results that led to the growth of the company as a whole.