What if De Nysschen is like "New Coke"?

"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing) 10/01/2014 at 11:47 • Filed to: None

3

12

For my analogy to work I'm going to have to give a little background information, so join me and let's take a trip all the way back to 1985. Reagan was in Office, I wasn't even born yet, Phil Collins was more popular than ever, and one of the biggest marketing blunders of all time happened.

In early 1985 the Coca-Cola Company was under heavy attack by Pepsi-Cola. The marketing boffins at Coke Decided to do some "market research" to come up with a competitive product as their market share had been dwindling since the 1960's. They did some taste tests with a "New Coke" formula, the initial results were positive. People in focus groups liked the new flavor, much closer to Pepsi, it was even sweeter than Pepsi (my teeth are disintegrating at the thought). More scientific market research was done, and the plan was set in motion to offer New Coke, not as an addition to the Coca-Cola line, but as a replacement for the traditional recipe. One released there was a small positive response, followed by a extreme outrage from a vocal minority. The Coca-Cola corporate office in Atlanta was inundated with over 400,000 calls and letters One comical request was sent asking for the CEO's Autograph, as the writer wanted the signature of "The dumbest executive in American business history."

At this time Pepsi was clear to point out that a once proud American staple has changed its formula to imitate the Pepsi flavor. There was clamor and general unhappiness within Coke as well. After Old-Coke fan clubs were started and lawsuits were served by bottlers, Coke execs realized their mistake and announced the return of Coca-Cola Classic less than three months after new Coke's debut. Now here's where it gets interesting, by the end of 1985 Coke Classic was outselling both New Coke AND Pepsi.

Later the Coca-Cola Marketing Vice President would say this about new coke:

"Yes, it infuriated the public, cost a ton of money and lasted only 77 days before we reintroduced Coca-Cola Classic. Still, New Coke was a success because it revitalized the brand and reattached the public to Coke."

Fast forward to 2014. People are up in arms about the new direction Cadillac is taking. A direction which puts itself more as an imitator of all things German opposed to the stylish American Icon it once was. The CT and XT model designations are shameless copies of German market strategies, and De Nysschen is looking like a one trick pony…

Is this just a page out of the Coca-Cola play book? Are we going to see Cadillac Classic in 2015 and De Nysschen ousted working for Hyundai? Not likely, but it would make for one hell of a story to tell your grand-kids.

For Sweden > Sweet Trav 10/01/2014 at 11:52

4

I support Cadillac Classic.

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Sweet Trav 10/01/2014 at 11:53

0

Nibbles > Sweet Trav 10/01/2014 at 11:54

1

Coke's "blunder" served one other purpose - to change the original formula and introduce high fructose corn syrup and cause less uproar than New Coke because, three months later, people were rejoicing too much to notice the subtle change in flavor.

Sweet Trav > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 10/01/2014 at 11:55

0

You're only mad because it makes a whole 1970 Brougham trunk load full of sense, or a bout 56.7 Metric tons of strange edgy marketing sense.

jariten1781 > Sweet Trav 10/01/2014 at 12:04

1

Interesting bits about New Coke: It was actually a sugarized version of the Diet Coke formula which was introduced in 1982. Coke Zero is the actual sugar free version of the Coke Classic formula and was introduced relatively recently.

In blind taste tests Pepsi and Diet Pepsi always beat Coke Classic and Coke Zero by a fairly large statistically significant margin yet they continue to get dominated in sales. The power of marketing and brand recognition.

I Do It For Miatas, NC Owner > Sweet Trav 10/01/2014 at 13:00

0

I dislike the names as much we the best guy, but I don't think the general public cares enough about Cadillac for there to be any semblance of an outrage. I feel like the negative press they are receiving for it could really hurt them, because this is the first time people have heard anything about Cadillac, and when the only thing you've heard of something is bad, why would you buy it?

I Do It For Miatas, NC Owner > I Do It For Miatas, NC Owner 10/01/2014 at 13:00

0

All of that made much more sense in my head

Sweet Trav > I Do It For Miatas, NC Owner 10/01/2014 at 13:03

0

Everyone at least in the states, no knows Cadillac and the giant boats they once were. What if the CT6 is a flop, Then they fire De Nysschen appoint an American, and usher in a brand new era of american class and luxury.

Nedus > For Sweden 10/01/2014 at 19:00

0

THIS.

Captain_Spadaro > Sweet Trav 10/01/2014 at 19:05

0

My problem (and I think most of Jalopnik and the internet as a whole would agree) is that there isn't any context given for the numbers in CT# and XT# (and by extension, the Q#0 scheme Infiniti is using now). Give context to the numbers, and I'd wager half the criticism would die down.

Nedus > Sweet Trav 10/01/2014 at 19:08

0

It's not an imitator of all things German. They're in the luxury market, and have been before BMW and Audi were a part of it. Who dominates that segment right now? The Germans. This doesn't mean that they're imitating. Any company in this segment is going to offer a product similar to its competitors in some way.

Saying that CT6 sounds vaguely like A6 is like saying Pepsi ripped off Coke because they both have an "e" in their name. You can't honestly expect them to go back to names like Eldorado Brougham Biarritz. All cars in this segment use similar naming strategies, it's not shameless copying.

ranwhenparked > Sweet Trav 10/01/2014 at 22:10

0

Part of the problem with New Coke was the emotional attachment so many consumers had to Coca-Cola, in terms of childhood memories, etc.

Cadillac doesn't have that, actually I don't really think any car brand has that - there's something different about a consumer packaged good that you can buy and use every day versus a durable good that you only buy once every couple of years.

And, if anyone did have emotional connections to Cadillac's names, that was already thrown away when they went to their current naming scheme.