Introducing of the New Temporary Coke - Assignment Example

1. Briefly summarize the background and consequences of Coca Cola Company’s decision to introduce the new (temporary) coke can with regard to its impacts on consumer behaviour. Coca Cola decided to introduce the new (temporary) coke can in order to appeal to consumer values and in turn increase customer involvement. The company was of the belief that this would increase the sales. The company introduced the new design to showcase its partnership with World Wildlife Fund and raise funds and awareness to protect polar bear and its habitat. The danger of extinction of polar bears has grabbed the attention of the public worldwide and people resonate with idea of contributing to saving the species. With its new design with polar bear on the can the company not only tried spread awareness and raise funds WWF’s polar bear initiative but also tried to use this an emotional strategy to drive sales and increase customer involvement. By this initiative Coca Cola tried to appeal to the hedonic needs of the consumers. The company expected the consumers to identify themselves with the cause and buy more of these cans. The consequences were not on the expected lines. Consumers confused the new white Coca Cola can with diet coke and this lead to a backlash from the consumers. Consumers were not happy with the move and even protested the change in colour by calling it as blasphemy. The sales of the product also declined and forced the company to bring back the red cans. 2. Using consumer concepts and theories covered in class, how would you explain why many consumers detected negative changes in the actual product and subsequently rejected the new coke can? The truly great brands are those which develop a loyal customer base and are able to develop a relationship with the consumer. Consumers identify with brands and products. Loyal customers are satisfied with a brand and buy it continuously over time. Satisfying the customers and establishing a loyal customer base is at the heart of all marketing strategies. Coca Cola is one such brand whose consumers have developed a relationship with its products and it has established a loyal customer base. To consumers a red can means a Coca Cola and a silver can (not red) means a diet coke. Over the years, this has been the distinction that consumers have adopted to identify the 2 different products of the company. Consumers have mainly identified the brand with its traditional Red colour. By changing the colour of the can the company had completely messed with the brand. This did not go down well with many loyal consumers. Such was the brand identity of Coca Cola that the change of the colour was even termed as blasphemy my some consumers. The consumer’s perception of a product depends on the sensation. The immediate response we have to basic stimuli through our sensory receptors in known as sensation. The selecting, organizing and interpreting of these sensations lead to perception about a product. The first sensation of any product that we have is through our eyes. Light and colour are the most basic stimuli. By changing the colour of the can Coca Cola had changed the first perception that the consumer would have about the product. As soon as a consumer saw a Coca Cola can that was not red, their immediate perception was that it is a diet coke. Another factor that leads to this perception is the basic stimuli i.e. colour. By changing the colour to white, Coca Cola had chosen a colour that was very similar to the silver colour of their diet coke cans. As the new white can was very similar to the old diet coke can, the change or stimuli was not enough to make the consumers differentiate the two. The change or the difference between the two is “just noticeable difference” wherein it had to be “just meaningful difference”. Just noticeable difference is the minimum difference between two stimuli and just meaningful difference is the minimum difference needed to influence consumer behaviour. Even though the consumer is exposed to a vast amount of stimuli they only pay attention to a small portion. So on seeing a white Coca Cola can consumer only paid to attention to the fact that it was not a red can and ignored all other stimuli such as what was written on the can (Coca Cola) and the regular logo present on the red can. This is also in accordance with the concept of perceptual defence. According to perceptual defence consumers only see what they want to see. So this again goes to show that on seeing a non-red can consumer believed they were seeing a silver diet coke can. Now let’s see how the consumer comprehends the information they have. Comprehension refers to consumers understanding or interpreting of stimulus in order assign meaning to a product. Consumers sense the raw data and interpret them to form meaningful perceptions. Our beliefs and feelings are responsible for our interpretations. Now on seeing a white can consumer believed that what they were seeing was not regular coke even though they could tell that it was not diet coke. So due to this belief that it was not regular coke, when they tasted it they interpreted the taste to be different from regular coke. Therefore their experience was completely a different one on consuming the regular Coca Cola (the company has claimed that there is no change made to the product and the change is only limited to the design and appearance) in a white can as compared to one in a red can. So it can be understood from the above reasons that by changing the colour of the can, from the customer’s view point, the company had changed the brand, product and experience and this is the reason why consumers rejected the new coke can. 3. Based on the theoretical reasoning you provided, what recommendations would you give marketers to prevent such negative consequences (i.e., rejection by consumers) in similar situations? The first and the most important recommendation would be to not mess with a successful brand. Once a brand name has been achieved and a loyal customer base has been established, it is very important not to disturb the equilibrium. Tweaking with the brand can lead to severe damages. Hence, it would be best not to make huge changes to a successful brand. Next would be to have a clear distinction between market segments. A clear segmentation of a market based on the needs and demands of each market group is known as market segmentation. In this case, introduction of a white can messed up the market segmentation. Therefore, whenever introducing a new product or making changes to an existing product it is very essential to make sure that the change does not dilute the market and reduce the gap between market segments. Consumers get attached to the brands, products and experiences. Therefore, marketers when designing new strategies have to pay attention to minute details of consumer’s perception and behaviour. This attention to minute details will help the marketers to design a strategy that will guarantee success. Read More