In the 1980s, many companies were creating new and drastic inventions, with everything from the Sony Walkman to Pacman arcade games. Another completely radical design at the time was from Coca-Cola. Their new drink, "New Coke," had a slightly different flavor from the classic Coke. Before this marketing move, Coca-Cola was the world's most popular soft drink. The company was profiting and had been succeeding for the preceding 99 years. Changing the formula for such a popular drink was a very risky move. Still, Coca-Cola intended to "re-energize" its brand.
When the company introduced New Coke in July of 1985, consumers immediately hated it. It wasn't what they had grown up with, and it was just too "new." A Coke was supposed to be classic and static, not something that was changing. Previously, the Coke consumer hotline was receiving 400 calls a day. Now, it received over 1,500 daily complaints about the new change to the beverage. People wrote letters to the employees and executives; one notable letter asked for an executive's signature because they predicted an autograph from "one of the dumbest executives in American business history" would be very valuable in the future. Some consumers even panicked, mass-buying the classic Coke before the New Coke replaced it. One man in San Antonio, Texas, purchased over $1,000 worth of the classic Coke to store in his basement. Protest groups formed, with one gathering over 100,000 members. Songs were even written about the old taste of Coke. Americans realized how integral the classic Coke was to their lives.
However, Coca-Cola themself tells a differing version of the story. They claimed that, prior to 1985, consumer preference for Coca-Cola was slowly dipping and becoming lethargic. Consumer awareness for the beverage was dwindling even more so. The move to create a new kind of Coke was intended to get people excited about it again.
Regardless, in July of 1985, Coca-Cola decided to return the original Coke. Consumers were so elated that the Coca-Cola hotline received over 31,600 calls in the two days proceeding the decision. Americans remembered how much they enjoyed the soft drink, and the company continued to be successful. Though Coca-Cola's radical decision to introduce New Coke is typically regarded as "one of the most memorable marketing blunders ever," Coca-Cola's profits soared after July of 1985, proving that the decision had a benefit.
Sources:
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/news/the-story-of-one-of-the-most-memorable-marketing-blunders-ever
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/05/netflix-stranger-things-revives-new-coke-heres-how-the-failed-soda-cost-coca-cola-millions.html
Sources:
https://www.coca-colacompany.com/news/the-story-of-one-of-the-most-memorable-marketing-blunders-ever
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/05/netflix-stranger-things-revives-new-coke-heres-how-the-failed-soda-cost-coca-cola-millions.html
This is a really interesting topic! I never would have realized that a change like this would have such a large effect on Americans. Despite how Coca-Cola's rebranding failed during the 1980s, an ad similar to the original was actually featured in an episode of the third season of the show Stranger Things. The launch of the new beverage lined up with the show's 1985 setting the show and included the characters enjoying the drink. As a result of this feature in 2019, Coke released a number of limited edition New Coke cans modeling the 1985 can design.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/05/netflix-stranger-things-revives-new-coke-heres-how-the-failed-soda-cost-coca-cola-millions.html
I never thought that such a subtle change to a soft drink could have this much of a widespread reaction. People associated the old Coke with memories and good things, and the "new Coke" with evil and negativity. It is risky to try to re-energize a brand, even if it is succeeding (that makes it ever more dangerous), but the Coke executives learned from their lesson (hopefully) and continue to make this product the same way to this day.
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