CivicScience’s Post

Scenario 1: The likelihood of soda being sold is considerably lower. Either it sells or it doesn't. Scenario 2: The probability of soda being sold increases significantly. It is either Pepsi or Coke that sells. Scenario 3: The chances of selling increase even further with more options. However, all the profits go into the pockets of PepsiCo. 😉 Geographical proximity can be beneficial for competitors also. The concept of 'House of Brands' can also be leveraged here. Understanding consumer behaviour is the key here. #Marketing #Branding #Psychology #Pepsi #Coke

Importance of market research: Case study of new coke #Day8 of #BrandStrategyQuest Coca-Cola FEMSA introduced New Coke on April 23, 1985, the first time in 99 years that the company changed the formula of its signature drink. It was developed that was sweeter than the original-formula Coke. Almost 200,000 blind product #tastetests were conducted in the United States, and more than #one-half of the participants #favored #NewCoke over both the original formula and PepsiCo . But it was a floop. What went wrong with Coke's market researcher???? #First, there was a flaw in the market research taste tests that were conducted: They assumed that taste was the deciding factor in consumer purchase behavior. Consumers were not told that only one product would be marketed. Thus, they were not asked whether they would give up the original formula for New Coke. #Second, no one realized the symbolic value and emotional involvement people had with the original Coke. The bottom line on this is that relevant variables that would affect the problem solution were not included in the research. #BrandStrategyQuest #Marketing #MarketResearch #CocaCola #NewCoke #ConsumerBehavior #BrandLoyalty #BusinessStrategy #MarketingHistory #AdvertisingStrategy #Branding #CorporateStrategy #CreativeMarketing #Day8

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐞𝐩𝐬𝐢: 𝐀 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐋𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 📉 In 1992, PepsiCo introduced Crystal Pepsi, a clear cola that promised to revolutionize the soda market. With $474 million in sales and 2.4% market share in its first year, it looked like a game-changer. But within nine months, it vanished, earning a spot on Time magazine's top 10 failures of all time. So, what went wrong? Let’s dive into the story. 🌞 Sunshine and Bottles: Pepsi wanted clear bottles to show off Crystal Pepsi's transparency. But sunlight turned the drink's flavor sour, making it taste and smell like shoe polish. 🧃 Healthy Look, Sugary Reality: Crystal Pepsi looked pure and healthy but was packed with high fructose corn syrup and nearly as many calories as regular Pepsi. Consumers were left confused and disappointed. 🧠 Coca-Cola's Masterstroke: Coca-Cola launched Tab Clear, a clear diet cola, to create confusion. This move split the clear soda market, leaving consumers unsure what clear colas were supposed to be. It also protected Coca-Cola’s main brand from any fallout. The Lessons Learned: ⌛ Take Your Time: Rushing a product can lead to fundamental flaws. Ensure thorough testing and refinement. 😃 Clear Messaging: Your marketing should make things clear, not confusing. Ambiguity can erode trust. 😥 Risk: Bold ideas might fail, but they pave the way for innovation. Crystal Pepsi was a brave move, showing Pepsi's willingness to take risks. Crystal Pepsi’s story is a vivid reminder: Align your product with consumer expectations, and always keep your marketing clear and consistent. Let's learn from these lessons to make smarter, bolder decisions. 🌟 #Innovation #Marketing #BusinessLessons #BoldMoves #CrystalPepsi

Brand vs. Product What’s more important? Recently I watched a video and the results got me thinking… They performed a basic experiment. Consumers were invited to participate in a blind tasting test featuring Pepsi and Coca-Cola. The outcome? A resounding victory for Pepsi, with the majority of participants preferring its taste. However, here's where it gets interesting. The study was repeated, this time with labels visible and consumers fully aware of what they were sipping, and Coca-Cola emerged as the preferred choice. But why the change of heart? Luckily, science has investigated the brain activity behind these two contrasting decisions. When consumers drink the label-less bottle, they tend to rely on the striatum, a brain region tasked with answering the question, "𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝?" And the verdict was clear: Pepsi > Coke. However, when the labels come into play, people often shift to the area of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex. Here, the question becomes, "𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐈 𝐚𝐦?" And in this situation, identity often triumphs over taste. When it comes to marketing and consumer choices, which do you believe carries more weight? The brand that reflects who we are, or the product that feels good to use? #BrandVsProduct #ConsumerPsychology #PepsiParadox #Brand #Product

The Pepsi Paradox: Brand vs. Product Yesterday I watched a video that delves into the age-old debate of brand versus product, and the results got me thinking… They performed a basic experiment. Consumers were invited to participate in a blind tasting test featuring PepsiCo and The Coca-Cola Company. The outcome? A resounding victory for Pepsi, with the majority of participants preferring its taste. However, here's where it gets intriguing: The study was repeated, this time with labels visible and consumers fully aware of what they were sipping, and Coca-Cola emerged as the preferred choice. But why this fascinating flip-flop? Luckily, science has dug deep into the brain activity behind these two contrasting decisions. When consumers embark on the label-less tasting adventure, they tend to rely on the striatum, a brain region tasked with answering the question, "𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝?" And the verdict was clear: Pepsi > Coke. However, when the labels come into play, people often shift to the area of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex. Here, the question becomes, "𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐈 𝐚𝐦?" And in this mental arena, identity often triumphs over taste. In the realm of marketing and consumer choices, which do you believe carries more weight - the brand that reflects who we are, or the product that feels good to use?  #BrandVsProduct #ConsumerPsychology #PepsiParadox #Brand #Product -- 👉 Follow Peter Walker

The Cola Wars - When Taste Tests Missed the Fizz! In 1975, PepsiCo sparked a battle with the "Pepsi Challenge," claiming their taste triumphed over Coca-Cola. Rumors swirled about Coke's taste issue, but they shrugged it off. Yet, beneath the surface, a fizzy competition was brewing! #ColaWars Skipping to 1984, The Coca-Cola Company saw its lead shrink due to new drinks nibbling at their market share. Feeling the heat, they introduced "New Coke" in '85. But uh-oh, the US didn't have it! Consumers were not thrilled, even non-Coke fans! Plot twist! Classic Coke staged a comeback in just months! 😮 Classic Coke shot past New Coke and even outshone Pepsi. 🚀 The power of nostalgia and tradition, folks! #ClassicCokeTriumph Lesson learned? Coca-Cola underestimated its brand's magic and the unpredictable nature of customers. The Cola Wars taught us that sticking to the classics can sometimes be a victory formula. The earlier you react, the better the chances of repairing your mistakes. So, next time you reach for a fizzy cola, remember the epic tale of the Cola Wars. Taste tests aside, it's the brand love and customer loyalty that keep the classics alive! #marketing #strategy #coke #publicrelations #branding

Coco-Cola Killed Pepsi ❌ ❌ This is how Coca-Cola's strategic move killed a 4000cr competitor in just one year! 1. The Clear Craze of 1992:   - Companies rode the Clear Craze wave, launching translucent products.   - Pepsi introduced Crystal Pepsi, a clear soda, during this trend, mistaken for a health drink. 2. Coca-Cola's Response:   - Fearing Crystal Pepsi's success, Coca-Cola applied the Kamikaze strategy.   - They countered with Tab Clear, marketed as a diet drink, creating market confusion. 3. Creating Market Confusion:   - Tab Clear's launch blurred the distinction between health drinks and soft drinks.   - Misleading advertising led consumers to distrust clear sodas, impacting Crystal Pepsi's sales. 4. The Result:   - Coca-Cola's strategic move caused Crystal Pepsi's downfall, marking one of the largest product failures.   - Within a year, the clear cola market collapsed, eliminating Crystal Pepsi from the competition. 🎓 Key Learnings: - Competitive Strategy: Be proactive in countering competitors' successes to maintain market dominance. - Market Understanding: Understand consumer perceptions and capitalize on market trends for effective product positioning. - Strategic Innovation: Employ innovative strategies, even if unconventional, to disrupt competitors and protect market share. Follow for more intriguing insights and business strategies! #marketingstrategy #businesstips #personalbranding #linkedingrowth #day11

Be in the consumer's mind. Be visible & findable. The principles of brand strategy apply to all brands in all ages. They can enable market share growth. This WSJ article (may be paywalled) sparked these thoughts in me. I find Dr Pepper's rise in the cola wars fascinating. Its long history combined with innovative consumer promises. The brand's ability to adapt to changing consumer preferences while staying true to its brand positioning is an asset. In my view it is what has enabled it to succeed and grow while being an "underdog" in the soda market. This makes me think that the real benefit consumers are buying is not a "soda" but the strong brand behind it. What stood out for me: 1. Dr Pepper is now only behind Coke. It has recently tied with Pepsi-Cola as the No. 2. Key drivers:marketing investment, distinctive product line, and, very importantly, widespread distribution.. 2. Older but distinctive. Dr Pepper, founded in 1885, is older than Coca-Cola and Peps. In my view, what sets it apart is not only about the recipe of 23 flavors, but its distinctive brand promise. 3. Not behaving like #3 but like the better choice works. Dr Pepper's popularity is growing. What matters most is to know what mindset it appeals to rather than the superficial demographic observation that Gen Z drinkers and minority consumers are preferring it. It makes me think that there is more depth to its strategy than simply the introduction of new flavors like strawberries and cream or the use of TikTok. What do you think? What underdog story do you like? #marketing #branding #management #mentoring Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. Keurig Dr Pepper Canada

A Powerful Lesson from Coke’s CEO: Yesterday, The Coca-Cola Company released their financial report for the first quarter of 2024 and the results look very encouraging. Despite increasing their prices by 13%, the beverage giant still grew volume by 1%. So how did Coke manage to grow volume despite the price increase? Let’s breakdown what Coke’s CEO says are innovations that are creating value and driving the business. ·      Innovating with existing flavors: Innovation doesn’t always have to be brand new products. Revamping classics like Fanta “orangier” flavor attracts new fans and reminds existing ones why they love the brand. ·      Innovating with limited time launches: Coke has a team that specializes in translating insights into products. The caveat here is these products are only meant to drive relevance to the core brand so they are all for a limited period of time. An example here is Tears of Joy that was available only on Tik Tok and meant to strengthen brand’s relevance with Gen Z consumers. ·      Innovating with new products to improve the offering as a total beverage company. ·      Innovating in pack size to offer value for different types of consumers at different price points. In conclusion and according to Coke’s CEO “In the end we are not setting ourselves up to sell what we make, we have got to sell what the consumers want to buy”. This is a powerful lesson of customer centric innovation. #CocaCola #Marketing #Innovation #ConsumerCentric #BusinessGrowth #CustomerExperience #Strategy #FMCG https://lnkd.in/dTycwFCB

𝐂𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 😳 During early 90's there was a notion of anything #clear meant #healthy. Inorder to bank on this #psychology #Pepsi launched a new #product line called #CrystalPepsi. This was an amazing product line it tasted really well and was also crystal clear. This captured 1% of the #MarketShare i.e $475 Million in retail sales . Are you wondering then where did the Crystal Pepsi disappear if it was performing this well 🤔 This massive success of Pepsi put coke in a hot pan. They had two options either to ignore this success or create a new clear version of coke . #Coke instead of coming up with a product which would be a great competitor to crystal Pepsi it introduced a weak competitor #TabClear. The marketing team positioned it as a diet drink and it tasted real bad on purpose. They positioned themself right next to Crystal Pepsi. This product was expected to die in 3 months. As these were positioned right next to Crystal Pepsi, it created a notion to the customers that Crystal Pepsi also tasted bad and was a diet drink this notion dropped the #sales of Crystal Pepsi drastically and they eventually disappeared. This #ProductLine is called one of the massive #failure as Coke killed it's competition #strategical by making a bad drink on purpose.Such a witty Coke 😏. Strategically coke just translated competitor positioning into the downfall of the competitors disruptor product line with a bad product on purpose. Have you came across any witty Strategies of #brands like coke? share your thoughts on comment section. #MarketingStrategy #BrandPositioning #BusinessHistory #CrystalPepsi #CocaCola #Pepsi #SoftDrinks #BeverageIndustry