Comments on: Why Coca Cola really won the cola wars

By: hunter kosalko

hunter kosalko — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:58:14 +0000

who won? when did they win? how did they win?

By: Twitted by brandexpression

Twitted by brandexpression — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:35:26 +0000

[...] This post was Twitted by brandexpression [...]

By: John Lyle

John Lyle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 15:10:33 +0000

Thanks Mark.

The other brands that spring to mind which allow a slow a sensible evolution are Budweiser and Mars. Both are incredibly strong brands and will be with us for many years to come.

Tweaking for new media challenges and printing processes is sensible and logical. Throwing all your heritage out like Pepsi are doing is just plain daft and short termist.

Cheers. Off or a Coke. John

By: Mark Gallagher

Mark Gallagher — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:36:46 +0000

Pepsi’s issues are cultural. The company’s tendency towards revolution extends through their other brands such as Tropicana and Gatorade (both admitted branding failures).

Conversely, Coke’s approach is evolutionary. If one looks closely at the Coca~Cola logo, you can see that very minor changes are made approximately every six months. However, these changes are slight and simple (e.g.: 1% bolder, .5° more Italic). These changes are only visible over the long term. The changes themselves are designed so that the brand’s identity always looks the way we remember it, and yet it maintains its youth and relevance. Because of this, the Coca~Cola logo is recognizable in any language. Pepsi; on the other hand, uses different colors in different countries (believe it or not they use RED in China).

Coke’s approach is simply “Classic.”

Great post John.

Cheers,

Mark Gallagher
Brand Expressionist®

By: John Lyle

John Lyle — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:29:41 +0000

Thanks Rob, Very kind of you to say so. But yes, I agree that sticking to the rules of branding would be a far more sensible practice for many brand owners and allow them long term growth, rather than stumbling from rebrand to rebrand.

By: Rob Marshall

Rob Marshall — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:10:24 +0000

I’ve been following your blog for some time now and I have to say your posts on well known brands and how the fundamentals, theory and practice of “branding” apply across the board are very powerful indeed. As with many things in this world, I often wonder how the “big guns” sometimes see themselves as somehow “above” these laws that students of branding are taught over the years, but that the brands that seem to win all the races always seem to be the ones who appreciate the value of good branding.