Among the closest competitors on the previous list – Pepsi Cola, Samsung and Burger King respectively – you see that they return to the drawing board considerably more often.
Perhaps that is not surprising. Brand managers with growth ambitions seem to be eager to resort to drastic measures in an attempt to shake up the market. A complete visual identity change is the result. An overly easy solution to a difficult problem.
This is the result of the so-called Action Bias: people are inclined to take action rather than do nothing, even if that action does not in any way bring the intended goal closer (Patt & Zeckhauser, 2000). Ironically, at many key moments in the life cycle of a brand, 'doing nothing' is precisely the missing ingredient to more market share.
Not less consistency, but more
No brand is perfect. Coca-Cola has also lebanon telegram data been gripped by a wave of innovation. For example, the brand was very shocked by the blind taste tests in the 80s that showed that the Pepsi formula tasted better. In response, the brand introduced 'New Coke', an improved flavor variant that led to angry reactions and boycotts among consumers. The New Coke fiasco adorns almost every textbook on fatal brand mistakes.
The crucial mistake Coca-Cola made here was that they assumed that buying behavior was rationally driven. In a rational world, the consumer would buy the soft drink with the best taste, and any improvement in taste would be greeted with loud cheers.
The real consumer, however, is not rational and does not buy Coca-Cola for its delicate taste, but for its brand. It is not for nothing that Coca-Cola only really stimulates the reward center in the brain when people can see which brand they are drinking (McClure et al., 2004). Taste is really of secondary importance. The slight improvement in taste that New Coke objectively brought was completely undone by the brand value that it destroyed in one fell swoop.
A lesson learned for Coca-Cola
A wise lesson for Coca-Cola, which the brand still practices today. When Coca-Cola introduces an innovation, it brings the brand closer to the core, rather than further away. Instead of introducing visual noise, they make the brand even more recognizable.
