Coca-Cola is currently embarking on a major shake up of its marketing strategy and has revealed its new ‘One Brand’ marketing strategy. The aim is for all advertising and packaging to be marketed within one master Coca-Cola brand as part of its evolution. This will mean that products such as Diet Coke, Coca-Cola Zero and Coca-Cola Life will all fall under the Coca-Cola umbrella.
Coca-Cola are aiming to drive unity across their portfolio as consumer research the brand carried out found that half of its consumers were unaware of the differences between Coke Zero and Diet Coke, I know I would fall into this category. It is a bold decision for a brand to make, especially one as big as Coca-Cola. All advertising campaigns will now feature all four products from May and the strapless ‘Open Happiness’ will be replaced with ‘Choose Happiness’. New branding will also be rolled out, refreshing branding across all four products to create a more visual common identity and theme.
The brands Marketing Chief Bobby Brittain likened the move to ‘rejuvenation’ of the brand for the next chapter of its evolution. Products have been designed to emphasise distinct characteristics of each product so the consumer is better informed and clearer as to what they are buying. I think it’s imperative for brands to ensure consumers are totally informed about products they are purchasing so I think what Coca Cola is doing is good. However I have noticed on the new Diet Coke bottles, to remain brand consistent these now have red lids, like Coca-Cola. This may cause confusion for customers as at a first glance it might not be the product they’re after. But I think overall Coca-Colas strategy will work to increase brand awareness for each product.
