Individual assignment for Prof. Sameer Mathur's Brand Management course.

1. Coca Cola’s Biggest
Marketing Blunder
Name : Surbhi Aggarwal
Roll No. : PGP31239
IIM Lucknow

2. • History
• Some Interesting Facts About Brand
• Launch of the New Coke
• Public reaction to New Coke
• Reason for New Coke Introduction
• Relaunch of Classic Coke
• Coca Cola’s Reaction
• Conclusion
Road Map

3. 1886
Coca Cola
BORN
1891
Coca Cola’s first
BOTTLINGIn a drug store occurred

4. 1899
The first bottling
was done
AGREEMENT
1909
400 Coca-Cola plants
were operating
BOTTLING

5. 1930
The company started moving
GLOBALY
1960
New
FLAVOURS
were Introduced

6. Some Interesting Facts About
Coca Cola

7. Coca-Cola was made for the cure
of
headache
and other illnesses
Sales for the first year were only
$50

8. is the most recognized word in
the world after
Coca-Cola
Okay 162 B 115 B
In 2012
Enterprise Value
In 2012
Total GDP

9. Launch of the
New Coke

10. Reason for New Coke introduction
Coke’s numero uno status was being seriously
threatened
• Not just by the rival Pepsi-Cola but also by its own brands like
Fanta and Sprite
Started getting to be associated as an old brand
• Stout, lack of innovation

11. Roberto Goizueta and Donald Keough toasting New Coke
Market research for 2 years
Over 2,00,000 blind tests
Young drinkers favoring
Pepsi & sweetness
Led to release of New Coke
Slogan: “Catch the wave”
Max Headroom print ad from
"Catch the Wave."

12. Reason for New Coke introduction
Launched the New coke(preferred taste by the
participants from blind test)as the only coke offering
Completely stopped production/distribution of old coke
Promoted on the basis of firm belief of have understood
the consumers of America by a strong market research
Known as the “Biggest Marketing Blunder of All Time”

13. Re-Launch of the
Classic Coke

14. Public Reaction to New Coke
“We did not understand the deep emotions of so many of our
customers for coca cola.”
- Donald R. Keough
Coca Cola President
Consumers were hurt because of a historical association of coke with
American culture and history was being taken away by the company

15. Public Reaction to New Coke
In 1985, one consumer shows her love of old Coke and
distaste for the new
New Coke faced severe
public backlash

16. Relaunch of Classic Coke
1. Coca Cola Sales Dropped
24.30%
21.80%
1980 1984
Coca-Cola Market Share
15%
6%
19%60%
1985 Soft Drink Market Share
New Coke Coke Classic Pepsi Others
May, 1985 Pepsi became No.1
24.30%
21.80%

17. Relaunch of Classic Coke
2. Loyal Consumer Backlash
• Replacement of original coke was too upsetting for consumers
• Backlash:
Angry letters and phone calls (60,000 calls/day)
Intense media coverage – negative consumer response
Product boycott
Protest groups — such as the Society for the Preservation of the
Real Thing and Old Cola Drinkers of America established

18. Coca Cola’s Damage Control
Public apology
The famous "We have heard you" comment
by the the Chairman, Roberto Goizueta
The old coke was brought back as "Classic
coke“
Mega promotional events

19. Reaction of
Coca Cola Co.

20. Coca Cola’s Reaction
• July 1985, “Old” Coke was sold alongside New Coke
(after 79 days) and re-named as “Classic” Coke
• The loyalty to the old coke went higher than the
previous records
• Made some conspiracy theorist to believe that the whole
‘new coke’ thing was staged
• Coke was back to number one with reasonable
lead

21. Coca Cola’s Reaction
1985
“Old” Coke was sold
alongside New Coke
(after 79 days) and re-
named as “Classic” Coke
 New Coke collapsed to 2.3%,
 Coke Classic surged to 18.9%
 Pepsi held firm at 18.5%.
1986 1987
Classic Coke became No. 1 soft
drink. Consumers became even
more loyal to the brand after it
was temporarily taken away
from them
1990
New Coke re-labelled to
“Coke II” and taken off
the shelves
2009
“Classic” Coke became
Coca Cola

22. Learnings
Product perception is as important as product itself
Never underestimate the emotions attached to a brand
Imitating competitors can never be a long-term strategy
Save your market research from strong biases
Have courage to accept your mistake and correct it

23. ThankYou
Prof. Sameer Mathur,
IIM Lucknow
Project done in the course of Brand Management
under the guidance of Prof. Sameer Mathur