I think this just did. Coke is still around. This may have ended Budweiser
Nothing beats the classic coke fiasco.
I think this just did. Coke is still around. This may have ended Budweiser
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
While it looks like the Bud thing was a total disaster, it technically is still too early to tell (bear with me as I’m being generous to make a point). In the end, the ‘coke fiasco’, really wasn’t a bad thing at all as measured by what happened to market share later that year and in subsequent years. Coke had been losing market share to Pepsi for 15 straight years.... take a look at the turnaround to market share following the coke fiasco of 1985-86..... https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/10/01/the-cola-wars-made-pepsi-and-coke-the-worlds-best-marketers How did that happen? I think it was because the whole thing got people talking about coke, rushing out to stock up before it couldn’t be found on store shelves, folks feeling nostalgic as they felt they were losing a bit of history etc.... and at that point, things took on a life of their own.
In the end, Coke didn’t lose market share, they gained market share. Was what they did a smart strategic move? Of course it wasn’t but in the end, some fancy footwork managed to get them out of the self induced mess and they came out of it ok. Rest assured, the Coke experiment of 1985 will never be held up as model of how to run a smart marketing program.
I think the Bud mess is far worse... except for one thing. AB own so many brands, the average consumer doesn’t even know what all falls under the AB umbrella. If people refuse to buy Bud but just switch over to Corona, AB won’t sell any less beer even though what Bud did was incredibly stupid.