Case Study

Coke Case

Do Real Men Drink Diet Coke? And who will drink Coke Life?

Coke is one of the most powerful global brands. Coke is a fairly simple brand to study and look at its evolution from an undifferentiated strategy to a multi-segment strategy. It is important to look at the famous formula change of coke in 1985 as part of our study.

New Coke - 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6t7deaplgY

Diet Coke

Diet Coke was introduced as a “diet drink” targeted primarily to women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdrE1VMxzoE

Soft drink consumption per capita has been declining for over 10 years. Still a strong cash cow in their product portfolio, Coke has worked to optimize the Coca-Cola product line via relevant segmentation and line extension of this powerful brand. Consumer preferences for lower-calorie, healthier, better tasting drinks has been a consistent trend. Coke has answered with a number of beverage company acquisitions, new products and optimization of the Coca-Cola branded product line.

The Coca-Cola Company knows it has to be creative if it’s going to sell more soda after sales dropped two years in a row in 2005 and 2006. Morgan Stanley analyst Bill Pecoriello explains, “Consumers are becoming ever more health-conscious, and the image of regular carbonated soft drinks is deteriorating rapidly.” In an attempt to appeal to consumers concerned with nutrition, Coke introduced Diet Coke Plus in 2007, a sweeter version of Diet Coke fortified with vitamins and minerals. But what they really needed was a way to reach young male consumers, and Diet Coke Plus, marketed with tag lines like “Your Best Friend Just Got Friendlier!” wasn’t going to do it.

A few new products appealed to certain male demographics, such as Coca-Cola Blak, a cola with coffee essence created for older, more sophisticated consumers who are willing to pay more, and Full Throttle Blue Demon, an energy drink with an agave azule flavor (think margaritas) designed to appeal to...