War. Huh. Good Gosh Yall.

The Cola War has been long and tiresome. There have been chemical weapons (Crystal Pepsi), dirty bombs (Christina Aguilera) and, most recently at Coke, a few insurgents. Yet still each year, a few inches are lost and a few are gained and to what end? The campaign’s budgets are only exceeded by the ambition to have a cola replace organized religion. You know, “catch that Pepsi spirit.”

North Korea isn’t the only one testing new weapons.

So now, Pepsi’s got them a newfangled brand idea and they intend to use it no matter what the UN says. The concept is “Feel the Pepsi” and its aim is to capture the volume and sheer awe of their 1970’s spirit catching effort. My recommendation: bring back epic “spokes dancer” Michael Jackson, incorporate “Taste of the New Generation” concepts and release a slightly modified campaign called “Feel the Youth”.

Doesn’t that just grab you?

This cola war has been studied for so long it’s gone flat. The once scenic market space of soda is now a wasteland of fads, slogans, once revolutionary media and aging pop stars. But the war has its lessons and we should take heed. The cola war cut the teeth of many a brand manager and the biggest lesson might be in a battle that has yet to happen.

Many, many years ago, the generals of Coca-Cola developed a secret weapon that would surely undo the enemy. This weapon was developed from years of frontline battles and its early tests assured a damaging blow to the competition. Coke loaded the weapon into its superior deployment system. They flew directly over the target and opened the bomb bay doors. The weapon released with a roar, plummeted towards the earth, hit the ground and failed to explode. Pepsi executives approached the weapon and admired its shining outer case proudly displaying “New Coke.”

What did Pepsi’s generals do with the unexploded ordinance? They hurled it over the line right into the Coke encampment after which it exploded with a ferocity not seen on aisle 12 in a long time. Coke’s bomb had exploded in their own face.

Every commander is expected to write a post mortem and Coke’s brass was no different. It seems every MBA class has something to say about New Coke. They spoke of the consumers who rebelled and favor the way Coke “used to be.” They reported the protest against changing a brand which people had used to define themselves. They acknowledged that it seemed that sabotage from the most loyal consumers was New Coke’s undoing. We now study that battle under the mantra of “the consumer is king”.

The dust has settled on aisle 12. Cola has become more of a cold war and the stockpiling of arms in other sectors seems to be the way of the foreseeable future. Both sides now have the “water bomb” and both sides have built alliances with major delivery systems. But what did Coke really learn? Will those who refuse to listen to history surely repeat it?

The next cola war: A prediction.

It will be a day not unlike today. People will gather in a conference room in one of the cola giant’s bunkers and amidst discussion the realization that things just aren’t what they used to be will appear. Awareness that distribution channels have changed, brand perception has shifted and consumers are just not who they used to be will creep over the room and set off terror within. The first strike will be a test.

One product will be repositioned. Perhaps steering Dr. Pepper in a nostalgia direction or maybe it’s a new way to “Do the Dew.” However it happens, the intention of the first strike is to make sure the weapons work after all those years in the silos. Will the bottlers march in step? With today’s fractured audience, can we really get the air power in the brief window available for a sweeping attack? And will Coke use the secret weapon?

The secret weapon was revealed in the New Coke attack. Consumers stood up and said they wanted a product that understood their heritage and roots. Consumers hoarded the Classic Coke as if their very identity was being stripped away and in a way, it was. There is real potency is the identification of heritage, enduring values and respect for a way of life that Coke seems more able to invoke than anyone or any brand.

The big lessons from the cola wars.

Get good intelligence.

There seems to be a tendency to want to sterilize and commoditize market intelligence. Coke’s focus groups said the product tasted better, so why the flop? Coke assumed that the consumer affinity was all about taste and ignored the more important intangible of persona and self identification. Perhaps more “feet on the street” intelligence would have warned against a disaster.

Keep your eyes in the boat.

Pepsi and Coke have barreled after some products with such focus that other opportunities get left unguarded. Tea, energy drinks and water are all sectors that Coke and Pepsi could have owned considering the pre-existing relationships and logistical systems. Concentration elsewhere have made Arizona, Red Bull and Evian little nuclear powers of their own.

3. Ideas are the most powerful weapon.

The reason that beverage sectors have developed in spite of the dominance of the two big kids is because of ideas. Ideas have changed the balance in many a war and marketers are wise to be on the lookout for good ideas. One need not be a maverick entrepreneur working in a garage to get great ideas. Procter & Gamble has an entire system dedicated to the best ideas money can buy. You don’t have as many successes as P&G and not recognize the power of great thinking.

Charge!!!!!

The big one is coming. Swelling arsenals and the stoking of quarterly stock expectations means it is inevitable that the two biggest kids in the lunchroom are going to have to fight. Pepsi has their posse called the new generation. They’ve got a standing army and every soldier in it feels the Pepsi. And then there’s Coke. They’re no youngster. They’ve got the muscle and the mean. They have the weapon. But will they use it?



Snowden Tatarski is a brand consultancy based in Athens, Georgia that focuses on the development and implementation of the whole brand experience. The agency offers marketing research, marketing strategies, advertising creative development, media strategy and planning, sales consultation and the production of advertising, sales collateral, broadcast and interactive systems and materials. Information online at www.sn-ta.com