Oh, to be popular....

So, I was browsing Die Welt this evening, trying to maintain my modest comprehension of written German, and perusing an article about a BBC survey which people were asked which country had the most positive influence on world affairs. Considering the article's prominence on the page, the answer was not surprisingly - Germany, followed by Canada and Great Britain. Go figure. The amusing headline though somehow claimed that Germany was thefore the 'most popular' country in the world. Somehow, I don't think that's what the survey was really asking.

But what really grabbed my attention on this same page was a slightly interactive, graphic description of the White House and its various outbuildings. Very cool.

It's the 'Real Thing' ?

So, after something like 25 years, Coca-Cola is finally dropping the word 'Classic' from its labeling for regular Coke. To this day, the company, and practically everyone else insist that the introduction of the sweeter formulated "New Coke" (aka "Coke II") in the mid 1980s was a huge marketing blunder. Books have been written about it, and this brand management fiasco is studied in business schools all over.

I may be alone, but I believe Coke's mistake was not in the creation or introduction of a new, sweeter product per se, but rather the decision to create a huge advertising blitz touting the new product and the demise of the original. Coke's marketing engine was churning out print and television ads full bore hyping this new and improved product. What Coke should have done was quietly release the new, sweeter Coke without fanfare to its bottlers and minimized the marketing. Unfortunately, because of the way it was released, consumers had no choice but to compare the two products and were then in a perfect position to voice their displeasure (loudly). Had the company quietly changed the product, consumers would clearly have noticed the difference, but there wouldn't have been the resulting firestorm of discontent and opposition.
The new product may still have failed, but then the company could have easily reintroduced the old formula with a new marketing splash, "We heard you ! Original formula Coke is back !" or even had two products on the shelves - original Coke with the particular 'bite' that it's known for, and then a second product with the new sweeter formula to rein in the Pepsi crowd. Instead, Coke spent another hundred million dollars (or whatever) to bring back 'old' Coke, undo their marketing campaigns, say their mea culpas, and spend years rebuilding the brand.