Posted on 04/23/2010 12:44:37 PM PDT by qam1
With all due respect to the author, we have always bought soft drinks that way. Well, image plus distribution (every soft drink bottler strives to have their product -- and their advertising -- literally everywhere). As a party to much research and many focussed groups on the subject -- pre- and post- New Coke -- I can assert this with conviction.
Further, Coca Cola actually managed to turn the New Coke debacle into an immense positive. New Coke took the place of Old Coke on the supermarket shelves and on the fountain valve. When Classic Coke returned, it added new space on the supermarket shelves and another valve on the fountain.
Thus, once the changeover and the re-introduction were complete -- Coke had doubled its shelf space and fountain presence. Pepsi then became a furious marketer of "flanker" products itself, seeking to protect its shelf space from encroachment by Coca Cola. The two titans ended up owning, between them, about 80% of the total shelf space -- while the small regional brands and flavors (Grapette, Nehi, Double-Up, even Royal Crown and Diet-Rite, etc.) disappeared in the torrent.
I've always thought it plausible that Coca-Cola actually planned it the way it turned out -- in which case, it wasn't a marketing blunder, but a bold marketing coup.
the reason they tasted funny to me when I was in the Gulf was that they alwyas seemed to have a metallic taste to them, probably because I don’t think those Pepsi cans were aluminum.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.