Mehrad's Blog

Sarah Barwin’s blog post “The Importance of Good Information” provided a nice summary of the need to perform market research, and gather the right information about consumer wants. We see many companies who have done their research and had successful marketing campaigns. For example, Coca-Cola has forever associated itself with classic coke bottle packaging and polar bears. A successful campaign leaves a lasting impression and lasting association on consumers. Although Coca Cola has generally had a good marketing strategy, they recently missed the mark. In one of their latest attempts, they tried to make the coke bottle stand out by distributing white cans. This strategy did not work because the can ressembled the diet coke can. The white cans are now being pulled from the market because they were unpopular. One problem with an unsuccessful marketing campaign is the stigma that is attached – “do you remember that white coke can?” “Ya, it sucked.” Marketers are always pressured to come out with the latest and greatest, but the presence of these poorly thought-out campaigns exemplify that sometimes taking chances don’t always pay off.