I work for a marketing company, one of whose major accounts being Coca-Cola.
Our market is primarily urban areas near major US cities (Harlem). Our direct
market strategy is to get young, urban kids to buy our product. We get
hip-hop acts to perform free concerts, DJs to give out free product in low
income areas and also jobs to younger kids.
I suppose this could be a moral dilemna, targeting kids with little to no
money, to buy product from a multi-national corporation. But this is
marketing. Coke wants to make money and lots of it. Capitalism and
consumerism. it's all about business. Cruel and heartless, huh?!
On another side note, a few friends and I had a discussion a couple months
back about all the different monikers people use for the sugary, caramel
beverage called Coke, Pepsi, what have you. Examples:
Southeast: coke (this is for ALL soda)
"What kind of beverage would you like with your burger?"
"Just give me a coke."
Northeast: tonic (this is used for ALL soda as well)
"let's go to the bah and get some be-ah"
"i'll just have a freakin' tonic"
Midwest: pop (yup, all kinds of soda)
"The pop machine is broken!"
Anyone else have any to add?
Miss Misa
"Brian P." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Case in point: Coca-Cola and New Coke. We know that the formula for
Coca-Cola changed a few times without ever receiving a new name, but the
backlash against New Coke spawned a Coca-Cola revival.
I'm sure there is still a small cult following for New Coke, but it was
proven to be inferior, and though the Coca-Cola revival has proved popular
on many levels, the Coca cola company has certainly encountered their fair
share of market difficulties in some parts of Europe, and it's also known
that some amount of disatisfied customers defected to the Pepsi camp (lest
we forget the wonderfully ill conceived Crystal Pepsi).
I myself am a Pepsi man, but I enjoy an occasional Coke, truth be told.
But, it should also be pointed out that I don't make nearly as big a deal
about my enjoyment of Pepsi OR Coke as I do my appreciation of wine, vodka
and gin.
The Cola wars rages on, but mainly in the marketing/advertising worlds,
more than in the cafe's and supermarkets. I certainly haven't witnessed
any check-out line rukuses, no waiters in fisticuffs with patrons, or
Chihuahua's being pelted with empty Sprite bottles recently.
Julian, thanks for a well written post (as usual).
Brian Poust
p.s. The music picks submissions aren't due until Nov. 30 at 7pm, not
October 31st, as some have been led to believe.
____________________________________________________________________
Get free email and a permanent address at http://www.netaddress.com/?N=1
