Coca Cola C2 Fail

Tag line: Break Free( Freedom of Choice of a healthier Drink)

 
What it Promised
#health #lowsugar #lowcarb

Premium Pricing Male Focused

Aggressive
20-40 Age Group Campaign (Queen
song)
Company Background Logo design:
• Initial Positioning: Marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a Did not change
patent medicine considerably &
has maintained
•Invented in the late 19th century, by businessman Asa Griggs Candler,
consistency
whose marketing tactics led Coca-Cola to its dominance of the world soft-
drink market . The drink's name refers to two of its original ingredients: Contour bottle design
coca leaves, and kola nuts (a source of caffeine) •created in 1915
•Aim to distinguish it from other
•Production: Company produces concentrate -> sold to licensed Coca- beverage bottles, "recognizable even
Cola bottlers throughout the world -> finished product in cans and bottles if they felt it in the dark, and so
from the concentrate, in combination with filtered water and sweeteners shaped that, even if broken, a person
could tell at a glance what it was."
•Brand Variations: Variants from caffeine-free version of the original to
additional fruit flavors -Starting from Cherry Flavoured to Lemon, Vanilla
Raspberry, Orange, Ginger, etc
Initial Advertising
•Coca-Cola's advertising has also
Objective: To target Health conscious Men significantly affected American culture
•Inventing the Santa Claus
Geography: Japan, US, Canada •First use of the nickname "Coke" as
Drink Type: Hybrid diet drink/ non-diet drink an official trademark for the product,
Flavour: More-or-less like a normal Coke. with a series of advertisements
informing consumers that "Coke
USP: ½ calories, ½ the carbs of a regular Coke means Coca-Cola"
Year: 2004 Backdrop: Low Carb diet Trend
Marketing: Push Strategy $50 million advertising campaign
 Positioning Strategy
Coca-Cola Pepsi
Objective To refresh the world To be the world’s premier
To inspire moments of consumer products company
optimism and happiness. focused on convenient foods
To create value and make a and beverages
difference.

Product Coca cola C2 Diet Pepsi

Diet/sugar-free Diet Coke/Coca-Cola Light Diet Pepsi/Pepsi Light
cola Coca-Cola C2 Pepsi Max
Coca-Cola Zero Sugar Pepsi ONE
Coca-Cola Life Pepsi Zero Sugar

Most used words Sharing, Happiness, Tasty Young, Celebrities, Fresh, Sport
Strategy Brand Localization Strategy Pepsi balance 2 influences in
the minds of the customers

USP: Low Calorie, Low Sugar, Low Carb

Offering freedom of Choice to Customers
 Products Coke Coke C2 Diet Coke

Sugar Content High 50% Zero

Carb High 50% Low
Calorie High 50% Low
Taste Sugary, Crisp, Less Light/Fresh
More Acidic Sugary/Aftertaste
Cost Low Premium Premium

Products Coke Coke C2 Diet Coke

Target Segment Soft drink Low Carb Diet Health
lovers followers(Profe Freaks(Explorer
ssionals, Fun s)
loving)
Age Group All 20-40 All
Key Factor of Beverage Preference
Gender All Men Women mostly
Taste Nutrition Hydration Cost Low Premium Premium
53% 20% 17%
 Failed Positioning
Women were not focused
Reasons for Failure
Advertisement was specific to only
men Expensive
Consumers were not willing to pay more money for almost the same taste as regular
Intermediate Product one with less carbs.
The product itself was cannibalized
due to Diet Coke as people found it Alternatives for product available
more healthy
01 Having half the carbs as regular coke the consumers started opting for zero calorie diet
coke, whereas the consumers who were not crazy for “low carb low cal” diet opted
No clear solution to
a problem
04 05 regular coke for much lesser price. 
Feminine perception
Was not able to address
a specific consumer The product’s sole purpose was to appeal to men ages 20 to 40 who might want to drink
demand which was
health 03 diet soda, but they wouldn't do it for the fear that drinking diet soda would be
perceived as "feminine"
Lack of
Expectations of low carb people
Differentiation
No clear point of difference on 02 The soft drink was still comprising 18g of carbs which wasn't what low carb people were
the basis of flavor or product looking for.  People on low carb diet were not drinking such soft drinks anyway
offering, it just wasn't different
enough or appealing enough to
opt-in Huge Competition
Vitamin Water, zero sugar content Changing trends
Products, healthier Alternative. The trends like healthy diet, Low carb and low calories were already dying out when the
company was still in the launch phase of the product
 Recommendation
Healthy
Moderate Pricing in between Regular Coke It could have studied the trend and the Beverage
and Diet Coke(positioning) demands of that period (Women inclined Flavour
A moderate pricing strategy could have been to Diet coke) Experiments
a win win as customer do not want to pay •Coke should improve the products what
Advertising
premium for 50% benefits they have doing now so it will make
satisfaction to their buyer.

Coke should have done good in Advertising

Strategy(Wider Target Segment) Healthy Beverage
• Instead of only showing men and making Vitamin Water
the product specific to men it could have Targeted Product
gone with the message to entice health
conscious people Coca cola C2 was in the Risk Zone
• Eg: Affluent Women, Mid thirties people, • It tried to fulfil consumer demand but failed to
Upscale Explorers, Survivors entice them
• Pepsi gave tough competition,
• Coca cola was focused on changing the flavor and
product more than focusing on the need.
No Sugar content in a Health focused
Product & Flavor given due importance Coca cola came up with Coke Zero
• Coke should ensure their products will (Winning Zone)
Focusing on the Loyalist(word of mouth)
not give any health problems to the • . No Sugar Content
consumers. Making them Brand Ambassadors of our • Resonated with health conscious
• Flavor should not change that customers Product as they stick to the brand customers
are used to (Recurring Purchase) • Focused on health and no carb content
. • Clearly differentiated Product Offering