Scope and Objective of the New Coke Project

Introduction

In this part of our presentation, I will discuss the scope and objectives of the new coke project.
Coca-Cola has been the leading soft drink company for years, but Pepsi started to gain popularity when
they launched their “The Pepsi Generation” advertising campaign along with the tag line “The Choice of
a New Generation” in the early 1970’s. This advertisement totally captivates the youth market. That is
the reason why Coca-Cola Company launched New Coke on 1985. The main goal of this project is to
regain market share and better compete with Pepsi by creating a new and improved formula.

Scope of the New Coke Project

Let us start with the New Coke project scope.

 Product design and taste

The company aims to replace the classic Coca-Cola formula. They wanted to create a
sweeter version that will match with the evolving taste of consumers.

 Market Expansion

Strategic expansion plan is another critical part of this projects scope. Coca-cola wanted
to penetrate new markets, and this project focuses to those customers who liked sweeter
beverages.

 Brand Preservation

While Coca-cola is introducing a new formula, they still make sure that they give
importance on preserving and protecting the iconic brand of the company.

 Competitive Advantage

Lastly, the goal of this project was to beat their competitors in the soft drink industry,
especially Pepsi. They wanted to outperform other companies by offering a superior product
that may attract more consumers.

Objective of the New Coke Project

Let us now move forward and discuss the objective of the New Coke project.

• Enhance Customer Satisfaction

 One of the primary objectives of this project was enhance customer satisfaction. They wanted to
offer their customer new formula that would better aligns with their changing taste and
preferences.

• Increase Market Share

The objective to the New Coke Project was to gain a larger portion of the soft drink
market, and also win the back the market share that they lost to Pepsi.

• Outperform Competitors

The objective of this project was to create a beverage that would, not only compete, but
also outperform their rival, establishing Coca-Cola’s positions as ultimate leader in the soft drink
market.

• Maintain Brand Loyalty

The most critical objective was to preserve the reputation and loyalty associated with
Coca-Cola brand. So even the company is doing some changes, they wanted to ensure that its
brand remains trustworthy and cherished by consumers

Coke and Pepsi Market Share prior to New coke Introduction

Coke Pepsi
28.4
26.2
23.9
21.7
17.9 18.8
17 17.4

1970 1975 1979 1984

Figure 1. Coke and Pepsi Market Share

 The table shown here is the market share of Coca-Cola and Pepsi prior to the launching of the
New Coke project. As you can see here, Coca-Cola is always on the lead, but you will also notice the
increase on Pepsi’s market share ever since they launched their “The Pepsi Generation” advertising
campaign. Especially on year 1984 where they only have 2.9% difference on their market share.

Figure 2. Perceptual Map of Pepsi Repositions Coke

Pepsi convinced the market that had a better tasting product and a product that was more
suited to a younger, more modern consumer. As a result, Coca-cola is considered by consumer as having
poor taste and being seen as old and outdated.

Figure 3. Perceptual map of New Coke Positioning Goals

 The success of Pepsi’s repositioning the Coke brand became a threat to the Coca-Cola
Company. That is why they launched the New Coke. They believe that it is the best strategy that would

Resource Category Resource Description

Product Formula Technical division developed a sweeter flavor

Market Research Interviews with almost 200,000 consumers

Marketing and Advertisement Promotional Materials ; TV, Radio, print or

sponsorships

Production Facilities Manufacturing equipment and facilities

Skilled production staff

stop Pepsi’s competitive position. This perceptual map shows the positioning goals of Coca-Cola, they
truly believe that by introducing the New Coke they would successfully reposition the Coke Brand as
modern and better tasting.

RESOURCES AND OVERALL FUNDING

Here are the resources and overall funding for the New Coke project. While the exact funding
of details of the project has not been publicly disclosed, we have managed to extract some information’s
related to the funding if the project:

Funding Category Budget Allocation

Market Research $ 4,000,000

Marketing and Advertisement $ 10,000,000

Monitoring and Evaluation $ 2,000,000

Contingency and Recovery $ 5,000,000

Total $ 21,000,000
Project Milestone

This milestone focuses on the most important dates of the New Coke Project. So on 1980, the
Coca-Cola decides to make the transform the old Coke to a sweeter taste. On 1982, they conducted
almost 200 thousand taste test as part to the projects market research. On April 1982, they have
announced the plan and development of the New Coke and officially launched it on May 1985.

The market was unwilling to accept the new flavor of Coca-Cola, so they decided to reintroduce
the Coca-Cola classic on July 1985.