Social media users say “yes” to polar bears, “no” to white cans: how has Coke responded?
On November 1, Coca-Cola’s limited edition white cans featuring their iconic polar bears hit shelves with aspirations of catching consumers’ attention. There is no question that consumers took notice, however, the response was unanticipated. Consumers found the white cans to be confusing both in taste and identity. Some people claimed it just didn’t taste the same while others genuinely mistook the white cans for Diet Coke. Although Coke’s white cans failed to meet expectations, I believe this experience signifies an important phase in the maturity of social media.
In 1985, Coca-Cola reformulated their flagship product and called it New Coke. Within about 3 months, New Coke was discontinued after experiencing consumer outcries in the form of letters and phone calls to the company as well as newspaper editorials.
Paragraph from New Coke Wikipedia entry
Fast-forward 24 years to Tropicana’s major repackaging. Again, consumers complained in letters, emails and phone calls. Nearly 2 months after the launch, Pepsico announced that they would return to the old familiar packaging.
Paragraph from The New York Times article on Feb. 22, 2009
Fast-forward again to the present day with Coke’s white cans. Thousands of Coke fans individually expressing their discontent via the company’s official blog, Facebook and Twitter.
Paragraph from Brand Channel on Dec. 1, 2011
It’s amazing to see how communication between consumers and brands has evolved over the last 25+ years and even as recent as the last few years. Coke’s current white can situation might appear to be no different than its predecessors. However, in only a month the decision was passed to stop distribution. Unlike traditional letters or phone calls, social media is a realtime, “focus group in the wild” medium that when harnessed at scale can deliver actionable insights. The speed at which information and market feedback is attainable through social media channels enabled Coke to react quickly in order to minimize financial loss and customer attrition.
Social media was probably not the sole source of data that led to the termination of the white cans, but it most likely played an integral role in the early detection of consumer dissatisfaction. As the social media universe continues to grow, it will only become a more valuable platform for advertisers to interact with their consumers on all initiatives from holiday repackaging to TV campaigns.
To everyone that accidently grabbed a full-flavored Coke thinking it was diet, fear no more. The traditional red background is coming back…and, of course, the innocent polar bears caught in the line of fire.
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