2. Introduction
Blind taste test included 67 participants
Functional Magnetic Resonance imaging
technology was used to monitor brain activity
during consumption
Tests were first blind taste tests
Images of brands were shown in the second part
of the test during consumption
3. Blind Taste Tests
Each participant was asked their preference:
Coke or Pepsi
The participants then consumed the beverages
and their brains were monitored while doing so
The ventrolateral prefrontal cortex lights up
naturally with either beverage, responding to the
“reward” of sugar
Blind taste tests typically don’t favor either brand
and end up right around 50/50
4. Branded Taste Tests
The participants were again asked to consume
their beverages while being told what exactly
they are drinking
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and
hippocampus both lit up when participants knew
they were consuming Coke
In most cases, images of Pepsi did not produce
this type of brain activity
This led to a 75-25 preference of Coke
5. Why Coke is preferred
In these branded tests, the participants
responded heavily to brand imagery
When a person thinks of Coke, they
automatically correspond it to things like polar
bears, Santa Claus, Mean Joe Green, and other
iconic imagery
Coke triggers memory-related brain regions that
are related to cultural influences
It’s not just the taste that matters, but the strength
of the Coca Cola brand keeps buyers coming
back for more
6. Coke vs. Pepsi
Out of 635 people surveyed, 346 preferred Coke
and 289 preferred Pepsi
7. Coke vs. Pepsi
HYPOTHESIS TESTS sample proportion 46.00% population
proportion 51% std error 0.0198 sample size 635
Do more people prefer Pepsi?
NULL: π<= 50% More than half do not prefer Pepsi.
ALTERNATIVE: π > 50% More than half do prefer Pepsi.
one-tailed or two-tailed? 1
test statistic (obs) -2.77 critical measure 1.64 obs > critical? yes
p-value 0.00283 a-level 0.05
p-value < a-level? yes
Null is accepted. More than half do not prefer Pepsi.
8. Recommendations
Since Coca Cola is getting a lot of their business
from their cultural ties, it is important for them to
stay true to what they have been doing for years
Pepsi needs to find ways to make their brand
more recognizable.
Pepsi should work harder to relate to all people
culturally, rather than just the youth culture
9. Conclusion
In a blind taste test, most customers prefer the
two soda brands equally
Coca Cola has a very strong brand image which
leads customers to feel excited when consuming
their products
Coke was preferred 75 percent to 25 percent
according to the brain scans in branded tests
Taste doesn’t always matter, but cultural ties will
hold strong in consumer behavior