Based on your research, what was the initial reason for introducing New Coke into the market? Should these reasons have led to a new product launch?
Competition and the New Threat of Pepsi’s Success
The initial reason for introducing New Coke into the market was stemmed in Coca-Cola’s position in the soft drink market and their competition with fellow soda giant, Pepsi Cola. While both companies have had prominent positions in the soda industry, Coke was outselling Pepsi by more than five-to-one in the 1950s, prompting Pepsi to reposition in the sixties. Knowingly surrendering a certain percentage of consumers to Coke, Pepsi was successfully repositioning itself as a more “youthful” brand with successful marketing campaigns and celebrity endorsements, …show more content…
Although it is unclear whether the estimated lower cost had anything to do with the major change, Coke’s idea to change their main product’s flavor (as opposed to offering a new product altogether) may have well been the first and most significant elemental problem in their product development process. From that point, concept generation and its consequent tests and trials led Coke down a path that was not necessary to begin with -- in other words, Coke may have steered wrong even prior to their Opportunity Identification, since it was later considered “fixing what was not broken”. Furthermore, the development of the product’s new formula appeared to be a copy of what other consumers liked about Pepsi -- while, again, it was an understandable choice, altering a differentiating factor between the two most prominent soda competitors in the United States would ultimately and inevitably shake up loyal soft drink consumers.
Taste testing in and of itself was not a detriment to this product’s release, but taste tasting only puts one factor into account: the taste of the formula. What it did not account for, however, was the bond that Americans have with Coca-Cola, which may have been enough to keep the product from succeeding …show more content…
Although 190,000 seems hefty, Coca-Cola is not a lipstick shade or video game -- it is something enjoyed by any sex, any age, almost any religion, and any ethnicity. One key factor in assessing the limitations of New Coke taste testing is that while 190,000 is a lot of people (though only approximately 0.008% of the US population in 1984 [US Census, 2016]), it is insinuated that the subjects were not aware that what they were trying was Coke, and that those surveyed were not necessarily avid Coke consumers or loyal fans (Hiskey,
Competition and the New Threat of Pepsi’s Success
The initial reason for introducing New Coke into the market was stemmed in Coca-Cola’s position in the soft drink market and their competition with fellow soda giant, Pepsi Cola. While both companies have had prominent positions in the soda industry, Coke was outselling Pepsi by more than five-to-one in the 1950s, prompting Pepsi to reposition in the sixties. Knowingly surrendering a certain percentage of consumers to Coke, Pepsi was successfully repositioning itself as a more “youthful” brand with successful marketing campaigns and celebrity endorsements, …show more content…
Although it is unclear whether the estimated lower cost had anything to do with the major change, Coke’s idea to change their main product’s flavor (as opposed to offering a new product altogether) may have well been the first and most significant elemental problem in their product development process. From that point, concept generation and its consequent tests and trials led Coke down a path that was not necessary to begin with -- in other words, Coke may have steered wrong even prior to their Opportunity Identification, since it was later considered “fixing what was not broken”. Furthermore, the development of the product’s new formula appeared to be a copy of what other consumers liked about Pepsi -- while, again, it was an understandable choice, altering a differentiating factor between the two most prominent soda competitors in the United States would ultimately and inevitably shake up loyal soft drink consumers.
Taste testing in and of itself was not a detriment to this product’s release, but taste tasting only puts one factor into account: the taste of the formula. What it did not account for, however, was the bond that Americans have with Coca-Cola, which may have been enough to keep the product from succeeding …show more content…
Although 190,000 seems hefty, Coca-Cola is not a lipstick shade or video game -- it is something enjoyed by any sex, any age, almost any religion, and any ethnicity. One key factor in assessing the limitations of New Coke taste testing is that while 190,000 is a lot of people (though only approximately 0.008% of the US population in 1984 [US Census, 2016]), it is insinuated that the subjects were not aware that what they were trying was Coke, and that those surveyed were not necessarily avid Coke consumers or loyal fans (Hiskey,