Before Coca-Cola launched 'New Coke' they had invested
US$4,000,000 in market research and undertook 200,000
blind taste tests. In all these blind (unbranded)
taste tests the New Coke outperformed both Pepsi and
existing Coke.
These blind taste tests were the basis of the
launch of 'New Coke' in 1985.
The launch created a public outcry, with Coke receiving
over 40,000 letters of complaint and over 6,000
calls a day to the company's '0800' phone number.
After only 87 days the company responded to the
public's demands and re-introduced the original
Coke formula.
How had the Coca-Cola management got it so wrong?
• They had focused on the product, not the
brand.
• They had neglected the emotional value of
'Coke' to the American public.
• They asked the wrong questions, so their
research provided irrelevant information.
As one Coca-Cola official said at the time "We
betrayed a national trust". Why? Because they
never thought to ask American consumers how they
would feel about a change to Coke, whether or not
they would want a 'New Coke'.
This is a classic example of one of the biggest
challenges in market research: knowing what you
need to know to make a good decision.
Brand Manual
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