When it comes to carbonated drinks, Coca-Cola and Pepsi are definitely the two products that everyone is most familiar with. Although the two are evenly matched today, at the beginning of their establishment, Coca-Cola had an excellent market advantage because it was established 13 years earlier than Pepsi. How did Pepsi surpass Coca-Cola step by step? The author of this article analyzes and interprets Pepsi's marketing methods based on the development history of the two. Let's take a look~

100 years ago, Pepsi was on the verge of bankruptcy three times and wanted to sell itself to Coca-Cola, but was rejected each time. 100 years later, Pepsi has become a brand that is on par with Coca-Cola. Today, let’s talk about this history of rising to the top by attacking “competitors”.

The Queen and the Third Party

First, a brief review of the history of Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

• In 1886, John Pemberton, an old doctor in the southern United States, developed a caramel-colored, sweet liquid in his backyard. This liquid later became the happy water of fat people all over the world - Coca-Cola.
• In 1894, Caleb Bradham, a pharmacist in North Carolina, invented a cola drink containing the enzyme pepsin and sold it as a tonic to relieve the symptoms of indigestion. Later, pepsin was deleted and the formula was gradually brought closer to Coca-Cola. This drug later evolved into Pepsi-Cola.
• In 1922, Pepsi-Cola was on the verge of bankruptcy and wanted to sell itself to Coca-Cola, but was rejected for the first time.
• In 1931, Pepsi-Cola was on the verge of bankruptcy again and wanted to sell itself to Coca-Cola, but was rejected for the second time.
• In 1932, Pepsi-Cola was on the verge of bankruptcy again and wanted to sell itself to Coca-Cola, but was rejected for the third time.

…

In that era, the positions of Coca-Cola and Pepsi were, one was the market leader and the other was the market challenger . In that era, there were many market challengers like Pepsi. By 1926, more than 7,000 companies had been sued for producing "fake Coca-Cola"... These "colas" had similar tastes, packaging, sales channels, and marketing methods.

Because everyone is the same, the battlefield for companies to battle is no longer products and business models. The battlefield for corporate battles is the user’s mind, and whoever can win the user’s mind wins. This is very much like a third party intervening. Coca-Cola is the queen who has been with the company for several years, and Pepsi is the third party that is eager to try (please don’t transfer your hatred for the third party to Pepsi, it’s just a metaphor, relax) . The goal of both is to win the hearts of consumers.

What is the most common way of provocation used by mistresses? There is something hidden in the words, also known as "swearing without using any dirty words." The surface meaning is very peace and love, but the inner meaning is directly directed at competitors.

"Brother, look how good I am at putting on makeup, unlike me who only knows how to use sunscreen."

In fact, she is saying that she looks good even without makeup.

"Why is she angry? If we had anything, we would have had it long ago."

In fact, it means that the queen is making things up and the third party is very pitiful.

The business war that seems to be open and aboveboard is actually a constant flow of “swearing without using any dirty words”. When Pepsi claims to have the “lowest price”, it positions Coca-Cola as “expensive”…

When Pepsi claims that it is something that only the "young generation" drinks, it positions Coca-Cola as "old, outdated, and outdated"...

When Pepsi claimed that it had the “best taste”, it positioned Coca-Cola as “unpalatable”…

So how did Pepsi succeed in gaining the upper hand in the business war between Pepsi and Coca-Cola? How to curse without using profanity? This article will introduce Pepsi's three offensive methods.

The first time: Coca-Cola was criticized by PepsiCo as "expensive"

In 1934, Pepsi launched its first offensive.

Coca-Cola was only available in 6.5 ounce bottles at the time. Pepsi innovatively doubled the size of its can to 12 ounces, but kept the price the same. The United States was in the midst of the Great Depression at the time, and the public welcomed cheaper drinks. Especially for teenagers, "when it comes to candy and cola, kids only care about quantity, not quality." Pepsi's method of "swearing without using any dirty words" is a "flanking attack" commonly used in business wars. That is, what to do when the challenger is weaker than the leader? Open up a hill with no people. If the other party sets a high price, then we set a low price. If the other party is positioned offline, then we will be positioned online. Can't fight, but can hide

And Coca-Cola is very passive. It can't increase the volume of its drinks because that would mean throwing away the 1 billion 6.5-ounce bottles it already has. Nor can it simply cut prices, because that would mean changing the hundreds of thousands of 5-cent beverage vending machines on the market.

The second time: Coca-Cola was called "old stuff" by Pepsi

In 1964, Pepsi launched its second offensive.

The younger generation of baby boomers are gradually gaining control of consumption power. Pepsi launched its classic advertising slogan "Come, join the Pepsi generation". Those who drink Pepsi are the younger generation, while those who drink Coca-Cola are the older generation. In this way, Pepsi repositioned its competitor as "outdated, out of touch, and outdated" cola. This method of "swearing without using dirty words" is a "guerrilla warfare" commonly used in business wars. That is, what to do when the challenger is weaker than the leader? Define a very small area and have military advantage within this small area. It's hard to be the cutest person in China, but if you narrow the scope down enough, it's easy to be the cutest person in Room 301, 5th Floor, Yunnan Building, Qisheng Middle Street, Chaoyang District, Beijing (Note: This address is fake ^_^)

It is difficult for Pepsi to be liked by everyone, so it focuses on the younger generation. However, this has inspired Coca-Cola's new strategy. Since you say I am "old-fashioned", I will take the opportunity to emphasize that I am "authentic". In 1970, Coca-Cola introduced the "Real Product" concept, suggesting that all other drinks were imitations. Coca-Cola markets its secret formula "7X" on a large scale to highlight that it is the only one with the unique secret formula.

The third time: Coca-Cola was criticized by Pepsi as "unpalatable"

The third offensive launched by PepsiCo was a war of taste.

PepsiCo put two drinks in front of consumers, and the consumers took a sip of each and then chose the one that tasted better. The test results show that about 60% of users prefer the taste of Pepsi. The results of the experiment were eventually touted in television commercials. This method of "swearing without using dirty words" is a commonly used "offensive war" in business wars. That is, what to do when the challenger is weaker than the leader? Find a place where the leader's troops are weak and attack. Coca-Cola's recipe contains less sugar and more bitterness. In a blind taste test, the sweeter Pepsi would take a more advantageous position.

In response to Pepsi's attack, Coca-Cola announced that it would optimize its taste. This is the biggest marketing disaster in Coca-Cola's history - New Coke. In 1985, Coca-Cola announced a change in its formula and launched "New Coke". This was opposed by thousands of consumers, who made more than 8,000 complaint calls to the company every day. This practice also makes Coca-Cola's original claim of "the real thing" and the mysterious 7X formula untenable.

To sum up

The history of PepsiCo's rise to power is a history of rising to power by confronting its "competitors".

1. To some extent, competition is about being repositioned by your opponents.
2. How to criticize competitors without using any dirty words? Follow the principle of military strength and use flanking warfare, guerrilla warfare, and offensive warfare

Author: Jiang Taigong

Source: Grandpa Jiang grandpa_jiang