What would happen if Coca Cola decided to spend no money on advertising for a year? No print ads or commercials, it would just rely on all its billboards, vending machines, worlwide recognition, etc. How much would it save, and would it’s sales really be hurt all that much?
If billboards aren’t advertising, what are they?
Certainly, Coca-Cola has a very large share of the soft drink industry, and certainly, there are a number of devoted lifelong Coke drinkers who wouldn’t want to switch to anything else. But every year, there’s a new set of people just coming into the market, who don’t yet have any brand loyalty to Coke or Pepsi (or RC or Shasta or their local store brand). Coke needs advertising to continue claiming their share of the new generation, or their market share will diminish with time. Slowly at first, to be sure, but no new customers would mean the complete death of the company in a lifetime.
I don’t have anything to add to Chronos’ explanation, but dude, you need to see Election for the Coke/Pepsi comparison alone:Hell, you know, Coca-Cola’s the world’s number one soft drink, but they spend more money than anybody on advertising. I guess that’s how come they stay number one.
Stranger
I should have clarified by saying they would keep all standing advertisements. They just wouldn’t spend any money one new ones, only to maintain those that already existed.
Sometimes advertising, especially cola, is just so suggestive it reminds you that you want to go buy one of their products. Something like Coke is quite often an impulse buy - you walk into the gas station to pay for your gas and you remember from all of those Coke commercials you saw this week just how delicious and refreshing a Coke is and buy one on the spot.
Coke was also smart to always have big Christmas campaigns to associate fond memories of Coke with Christmas - a time of year when you’re not necessarily thinking of needing a delicious refreshing beverage (winter, in the northern hemisphere). So they switch your impulse buying triggers from needing a cool drink to needing an American Christmas staple.
Coke must keep advertising to remind you why you need to keep on buying their product and not some other beverage.
They also do need to remind you that they’re still here. During WWII when a number of companies could not sell their products to the public because their materials and manufacturing capacity were needed for the war effort, they continued to advertise their brand names to consumers, so when the war ended, folks would resume buying those advertised brands.
Studies have also found that companies that continue their previous levels of advertising during economic depressions recover better and grow more when the economy turns back up than companies that cut their advertising.
If people temporarily cannot buy your product, don’t stop advertising. If virtually everybody is buying your product at the moment, don’t stop advertising.
One lesson that not enough Mom & Pop businesses never learn is that the single most important part of staying in business is advertising.
But isn’t the large Coke ad on the refrigerated unit full of bottles of Coke enough to get you to remember that you like Coke?
What do you mean by “keep all standing advertisements”? For example, unless you own the billboard, you have to pay rent on that space continuuously. Do you mean keep their advertising budget flat and not spend more money than they are spending now? Can they create new commercials, or do they have to keep showing the old ones?
I sort of agree with the OP. Coke can skip a few ads without harm.
But advertising wouldn’t go away. It has better uses.
The growth area at the moment is in flavored water. And I suspect it has much larger profit margins.
I think if Coke gave up on the cola wars and put all its money on flavored water, just for a couple of winter months even, that they would be far ahead.
Bear in mind that Coca-Cola won an Ig Nobel for their failed introduction of Dasani to Europe. They managed to match the plot of a popular sitcom almost exactly, by using a source which was contaminated with carcinogens.
They would spend whatever necessary to keep all outdoor and in store signs. There wouldn’t be a new slogan or jingle. There would be no tv or radio commercials, or print ads (except for new products). For one year they would rely on nothing but Coke’s worldwide recognition and that the fact that anywhere consumers have the opportunity to buy something other than a Coke (and many places where they don’t) the Coca-Cola logo is almost always prominently displayed.
People say that the soft drink “Moxie”, big before Coke, failed since the company stopped advertising when sugar prices became high.
Having drunk Moxie in Maine, I am sure the foul taste of the product had more to do with it.
If Coke stopped actively advertising, they would likely lose share to Pepsi and other drink companies that did not. Perhaps they do have too much advertising now and could cut down? I don’t know. There are countries where Coke is not as popular as it is in the US – Peruvians seems to like their “Inka Cola”.
You know I haven’t drank Dr. Pepper for years until they came out with the: “Dr. pepper is made with 23 flavors…” campaign. (or some thing like that)
Now I’m back to drinking the stuff like it’s going out of style. Even though I know how silly those commercials are.
So maybe there is something to it.
Funny, the Coca Cola Christmas commercials often turn me away from Coke during the season – It’s so patently false in its implication that it’s a holiday tradition that it turns me off of it for a while. And when I want a cola, it’s usually a Coke a look for.
Of course, everyone knows that the real, traditional Christmas soda-pop beverage is hot Vernor’s ginger-ale.
When was the last time you heard of RC Cola?
The reason you thought of Coke (or Pepsi) is because of years of advertising. The purpose of advertising isn’t to make you say “ooo, I want that because the commercial is so appealing”. It’s to keep the brand in your mind so when you think of a product, that is the brand you think of.
The purpose of incessant media advertising became crystal clear to me when I saw my then 3 year old son singing Ba ba ba baa baa - I’m loving it!
Probably post #3 :).
Other than in this thread? Last night, when my 16-year-old nephew tried to convince me that RC tastes better than Pepsi.
Man, you are so right! This stuff tastes terrible! It is hard to believe that this stuff (MOXIE) was once a major brand. My grandmother used to drink it. I’ve tried it several times, and it doesn’t grow on you-and …if you happen to drink it and burp-you get the same terrible test again! Bleecchh! :smack: