Tom Feltenstein

I’ve been a big advocate of change my whole working life. Change is good, but only when that change is well thought out, smart change. When you work very hard to build your brand and then decide to make sweeping change, don’t be surprised if you get buried by an avalanche of customer backlash – and even the strongest brands aren’t immune.

Twenty years ago, on April 23^rd to be exact, “new Coke” was introduced to the world. Coca Cola is arguably the most recognized brand worldwide but that didn’t ensure success of this idea. Customers were not happy that Coca Cola had changed their Coke and the CEO was bombarded with mail and telephone calls. Consumers and retail outlets complained to employees on every level of the company. After several months of pushing the new product against increasingly strong customer resistance, Coca Cola announced on July 10^th that the original formula, Coca-Cola Classic, was coming back. This was a reminder to every business owner of who’s really in control – their customers.
The public gets intimately involved with products, services, and even people. These items become family to us. People shared some of their happiest moments with the old Coke and Coca Cola capitalized on this for decades with commercials showing the family atmosphere and with jingles like “I’d like to buy the world a Coke”. Needless to say customers wanted the product associated with these good emotions and suddenly removing that product and forcing something else on them was not well accepted.

Head my warning, when you think of rebranding yourself, don’t underestimate your customers and completely take away something they have come to love. They know what they like, and may jump ship leaving you to flounder or even sink.

Watch this video to see exactly how others used Coca Cola’s “new Coke” mistake to their advantage!