Reading Harvard’s business blog, I realized how important a marketing strategy is when attracting customers. Slogans and phrases can lure consumers, but can also discourage consumers. One of the examples that were mentioned was Diet Coke. For many years, Coca-Cola wanted to steer men to drink Diet Coke, but it failed because of the perception of Diet Coke being women’s product. Later Coca-Cola launched Coke Zero packaged in black cans using male-centric marketing strategy and it became more popular than Diet Coke.

I realized how men tend to not consume products that are related to women such as Lululemon or Vitamin water. A shaving brand, Gillette had to make a separate brand name for women products because it affected male consumers. Another example that I found was Dr Pepper. Dr Pepper Ten, a 10 calorie soft drink made a slogan “not for women” while making Diet Dr Pepper’s marketing to be women-friendly.

I have learned that when marketing a certain product, you have to know your target market and try to make ad campaigns that are related to that customer segment. Because once a brand image is built it is hard to change and decisions depend a lot on commercials and media.

“Frothy Frivolous Blog Stuffs.” : A Coca Cola Comparison: Regular Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.

“Should Men’s Products Fear a Woman’s Touch?” — HBS Working Knowledge. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.