Coke Zero claims win in sugar-free battle

by Nicola Clark, Marketing 02-Aug-06

Coca-Cola's £10m launch investment behind Coke Zero has already succeeded in pushing rival Pepsi Max into second place in the sector, according to figures from ACNielsen.

Coke Zero - dubbed 'bloke Coke' - had a 6.2% value share of the cola
market for the week ending 15 July, compared with Pepsi Max's 5% share.
Both sugar-free soft drinks are aimed at men and share a masculine brand

positioning.

According to Coca-Cola, the brand, which it says 'completes the Coke
trilogy', is set to become as big as Diet Coke within 10 years.

In response to the introduction of Coke Zero, Britvic launched its
biggest ever sampling drive for Pepsi Max and a 'No substitute for Pepsi
Max' press ad campaign.

However, one retail source claimed that the work 'lacks creativity',
adding that the company should be doing more to protect the 13-year-old
brand's share in the face of Coca-Cola's investment.

Cathryn Sleight, marketing director of Coca-Cola, said the launch would
benefit the whole carbonated soft-drinks sector. She pointed to the
effectiveness of the extensive sampling drives, which have encouraged
more consumers than ever to try sugar-free colas.

Rivals say the uplift is due to heavy discounting and the short-term
novelty factor of the new drink. Value share figures for the two colas
in the four weeks to 15 July shows Pepsi Max with a 5.7% share and Coke
Zero with 4.3%.

They say the real test will be if Coke Zero can maintain its share after
initial consumer curiosity has died down.

Coca-Cola recently withdrew an execution for Coke Zero featuring the
strapline 'Blind dates without the psychos' following complaints from
mental health charities (Marketing, 25 July).