NEW COKE

New Coke



Table of Contents

Introduction2

Background2

The Launch of New Coke3

Consequences4

Decisions6

Coca Cola7

Formula7

Consumer Behaviour8

Consumer Behaviour Models8

External Variables9

Culture9

Subculture9

Social Stratification10

Social Group10

Family10

Personal Factors11

Other Factors11

Individual Determinants11

Decision Process13

Conclusion14

New Coke

Introduction

Consumer behaviour refers to behaviour that consumers have when they buy, use, evaluate, and dispose off products and services they expect to meet their needs. The study of consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals make decisions spend their resources (time, money, and effort) on issues related to consumption. The launch of New Coke received gigantic widespread opposition. A multitude of people were against this decision and they communicated their grievances through television, procession, and rallies. Whatever was the outcome, the inaccuracy of the tests of consumption was due to a lack of emotional intelligence in this particular project. The basic problem behind this overall scenario was the related to the misunderstanding of consumer behaviour. The drink was therefore a resounding failure. The people rejected it and thought that it had a sweet taste which is entirely improper for Coca-Cola. The Americans were struck a chord. For them, the drink was an icon, like the flag of the United States or the Statue of Liberty. This overall scenario has become one of the most common case in marketing and consumer behaviour studies.

Background

In 1985, Coca-Cola was preparing to celebrate its centenary. However, they were not easy times. The company was facing an unprecedented crisis. The beverage icon of the United States was losing ground against the clock to its main competitor, Pepsi. At first the distances were vast. However, two brilliant advertising campaigns by Pepsi put them almost even. At first, Pepsi Generation instilled the idea that Pepsi was a drink for young people, not as Coca-Cola, the drink of their parents. The campaign was well developed and it brought the young people and people with initiative, with the idea of doing new things. Pepsi even launched a campaign named as Pepsi Challenge and people were tested on double blind study. Most of the people preferred Pepsi over Coca Cola.

In late 1984, Coca-cola was ahead of Pepsi in U.S. by a small margin of 4.9%. In supermarkets the things were even worse, and there was a minimum difference of 1.7%. Executives at Coca-Cola could not believe that most of the people preferred Pepsi. They said a mouthful was not sufficient to perform the test. The people at Pepsi performed more tests, initially the coke was better when people took a glass in one sip could not appreciate the nuances.

The beverage was ready transform itself to become a most preferred beverage. Still, Coke was losing to Pepsi. Thus, the beverage was ready transform itself to become a most preferred beverage. The CEO was going to do battle with any price to get things back on track. Then there was a decision of compromise and change. The management of the company changed the taste of Coke and thus introduced a complete new brand.

The Launch of New Coke

The larger the company, the more necessary is the understanding of executives to contribute ...