When many people think of marketing, they think of tv, radio, print ads, websites - the promotions they see around them every day. What they tend to overlook is just how much work went into producing that ad.

The Failure of New Coke
Take Coca Cola, for instance. They don’t just decide to air a Superbowl commercial, sponsor an event, or run a promotional contest. They go through an elaborate process to understand who the types of people are that drink their cola and what types of images, words, and emotions would appeal to them. That means doing all kinds of marketing research, from surveying and interviewing cola drinkers, doing focus groups, and reading websites to see what people are saying. They want to get to know their customers really well, so they can create marketing campaigns that are relevant to their lives.

Coca Cola is also responsible for one of the biggest blunders in marketing - New Coke. New Coke came out because in blind taste tests, people preferred Pepsi to Coke. The revelation was startling and Coca Cola decided that it was time to change their formula to make it sweeter like Pepsi. After months of tweaking the formula, doing blind taste tests, and changing their packaging, New Coke was launched.

It failed miserably. Why? Mainly because Coca Cola did not understand their customers. In blind taste tests, people usually only take a small sip of cola, whereas in real life, they drink full glasses of cola. People prefer sweetness in moderation, so when it came to drinking a can of cola, Coke drinkers preferred Coke’s less sweet formula to Pepsi’s sweetness.

But, it wasn’t just the new formula that Coke drinkers opposed. The new packaging and marketing alienated them. They didn’t want something new. They wanted the same old Coca Cola they knew and loved. New Coke failed because Coca Cola didn’t know its customers. When the company returned to its old formula and re-launched Coca Cola Classic, they did much better.

The Moral: Know Your Customers
So why should you care? I use Coke as an example because it’s a brand that everyone is familiar with. You see ads for Coke multiple times each day yet most people don’t think about what goes into a marketing campaign. Understanding who your customers are and what motivates them is 80% of what makes a good marketing campaign. How you execute that campaign - with billboards, tv, print ads, radio, mailings, websites, search marketing, etc - and how successful your campaign is depends on that information.

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Categories: Marketing