The Pepsi Challenge was a marketing campaign started in 1975. It was simply a blind taste test between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, touting that even Coca-Cola fans choose Pepsi. It was a wildly successful marketing strategy that they revisited for decades. Coca-Cola even ran their own private tastes test, through which they found Pepsi was indeed chosen over half of the time, and panicked. They briefly released New Coke in 1985, a formula more similar to Pepsi’s cola. This initiative turned out to be one of the biggest failures in established branding history. Coca-Cola consumers were wildly disappointed. Miraculously, despite Coca-Cola’s snafu, and Pepsi’s increased market share, Coca-Cola remained number one in the soda game, and still reigns today.
In 2004, Baylor College of Medicine performed a version of the Pepsi Challenge with subjects hooked up to a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine. The results were interesting. In blind taste tests, most people preferred Pepsi, just like the Pepsi Challenge. The Pepsi drinks lit up activity in an area of the brain known as the ventral putamen, which helps us evaluate different flavors. It would seem that Pepsi does taste better! However, when the subjects were told which beverage they were sampling before they tasted it, they decided Coca-Cola tasted better. The fMRI scans showed the sips of Coca-Cola increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex. This part of the brain is more involved in decision making. When the subjects knew they were drinking Coca-Cola, they weren’t simply evaluating flavor, they were considering memories and experiences. The study’s conclusion was that this prefrontal activity was associating the soda with the brand, in effect, overriding the taste buds. When choosing Coca-Cola, consumers are choosing the brand they know and love. Building a successful brand is more than a good product, it’s building a comprehensive experience.
Avoid These 6 Branding Mistakes
Not getting the logo right. Designing a logo yourself (just for now) may seem like a good idea, at first. But, changing a logo mid-stream can be complicated. If you aren’t widely recognized, you could lose what brand equity you may have already established. If you are, you could confuse, alienate and ultimately lose your…
What is the Difference Between Serif and Sans-Serif Typefaces?
You may have heard the terms serif and sans-serif before, but do you know what those terms actually mean? In typography, a serif is a small line, stroke, or other decorative flair regularly attached to the end of a larger stroke in a letter or symbol within a particular font or family of fonts. “Sans”…
5 Reasons Successful Branding is Important
Branding clearly delivers your message. Branding emotionally connects your target audience with what you offer. Branding motivates your audience to create a connection. Branding reinforces your credibility. Branding creates loyalty. Bonus – Branding helps you stand out in a crowd.
The Importance of a Social Media Presence
Social media platforms help increase awareness about brands, connect with customers, and potentially boost leads and sales. With more than three billion people around the world using social media every month, it’s certainly not a passing trend. It’s one of the most profitable and stress-free digital marketing platforms that can be used to grow your…
The Foundations of Branding
The foundations of your brand is your logo, your messaging, website, imagery and promotional materials. Keeping a consistent brand is critically necessary when it comes to building brand equity. Brand equity adds value to your company based on the core values you promote, and comes in the form of perceived quality. Never underestimate branding. And,…
10 of the Most Recognized Logos in the World
We’ve compiled a list of the world’s most recognized logos. Yes, many of these logos have gone through some tweaks throughout the years, but for fun, we listed the year the first version of their current logo appeared. Some of these companies have even been around longer than their currently recognizable logo! It just goes…
What is Brand Consistency and Why is it Important?
Brand consistency means always delivering messages aligned with the core brand values in the same tone, presenting the brand’s visual language in a consistent way, and repeating the same colors throughout the cohesive brand experience. Over time, these elements become ingrained in the minds of consumers, and they’re more likely to remember your brand. Brand…
Plan it, make it, stretch it, wrap it, ink it, spin it, long print run it : Flexographic
Flexographic printing is a form of direct relief printing that is characterized by the use of flexible printing plates. In the past, these printing plates were always made of rubber, whereas today, flexible photopolymer printing plates might also be used. These plates have a slightly raised image of the content on them, they’re inked, and…
