Business Week Profiles Coke's Mary Minnick
posted by John Craven at 2:08 PM
The August 7th Business Week has a great profile of Mary Minnick, Coca Cola's head of marketing, strategy, and innovation. Aside from giving historical detail of some of Coke's missed opportunities during Minnick's tenure at Coke, it provides some great insight into one person's crusade to save Coke from being "irrelevant".
Her goal, according to the article, is "to transform Coke from a soda-centric organization that was long content to offer ‘me-too’ products in emerging categories to one on the cutting edge of consumer trends." These intentions sound great -- just what Coke needs -- but the article doesn't reveal much about how this will be executed and I personally find it worrisome that Coca-Cola Zero and Coke Blak are referenced as examples of the transformation.
Surprisingly, the article lacks any mention of acquisition. Realistically, the change that Minnick is hoping to achieve is so fundamental that it's difficult to believe that it can happen organically. Coke -- and Minnick, if she wishes to last in such a position -- needs to find brands or companies that can bring outside innovation to an organization that has struggled to come up with fresh ideas of its own. Whether it ends up being in the form of something the size of Glaceau or several smaller companies in emerging categories, Minnick needs to help Coke learn what it means to be an innovator.
Read the full article:
http://biz.yahoo.com/special/brand06_article2.html
Her goal, according to the article, is "to transform Coke from a soda-centric organization that was long content to offer ‘me-too’ products in emerging categories to one on the cutting edge of consumer trends." These intentions sound great -- just what Coke needs -- but the article doesn't reveal much about how this will be executed and I personally find it worrisome that Coca-Cola Zero and Coke Blak are referenced as examples of the transformation.
Surprisingly, the article lacks any mention of acquisition. Realistically, the change that Minnick is hoping to achieve is so fundamental that it's difficult to believe that it can happen organically. Coke -- and Minnick, if she wishes to last in such a position -- needs to find brands or companies that can bring outside innovation to an organization that has struggled to come up with fresh ideas of its own. Whether it ends up being in the form of something the size of Glaceau or several smaller companies in emerging categories, Minnick needs to help Coke learn what it means to be an innovator.
Read the full article:
http://biz.yahoo.com/special/brand06_article2.html
9 Comments:
“…on the cutting edge of consumer trends." Coke?? When and how??
Just look at the job descriptions on their career site: 6 (six) pages of Function Specific and General Activities, Competences, Function Specific Knowledge and Skills. And the position is Global Innovation Manager…
It takes more than 6 pages job description to get “on the cutting edge”.
Nurturing free spirit and open mind could be one of the answers.
One has to start somewhere…
Pepsi-Cola knows what it means to be an innovator. That is why they have the #1 portfolio in all of the beverage business. With names like Starbucks, Lipton, Sobe, Gatorade, Tropicana, Ben and Jerry's, Quaker, etc. and the list goes on. People should invest stock in Pepsi because they have become #1 by defining innovation.
Pepsi-Cola knows what it means to be an innovator. That is why they have the #1 portfolio in all of the beverage business. With names like Starbucks, Lipton, Sobe, Gatorade, Tropicana, Ben and Jerry's, Quaker, etc. and the list goes on. People should invest stock in Pepsi because they have become #1 by defining innovation.
Pepsi-Cola knows what it means to be an innovator. That is why they have the #1 portfolio in all of the beverage business. With names like Starbucks, Lipton, Sobe, Gatorade, Tropicana, Ben and Jerry's, Quaker, etc. and the list goes on. People should invest stock in Pepsi because they have become #1 by defining innovation.
Poor Mary Minnick… She will have to market another “innovation” – Gold Peak.
Mr. Craven, I think you make some great points, but you missed something rather "fundamental" about KO...their culture and bureaucracy will stiffle the innovative spirit of any small, entrepreneurial company they acquire as has happened in the past. The organism's antibodies if you will are just too strong and too stubborn. Coke's illness is rooted in their culture, which is very hard to fix.
A tough culture to break through. A demanding and innovative (at least it appears so at Starwood) Steven Heyer could not get the Coke ship moving in the right direction. Hopefully, this iconic brand will take a hard look at itself and realize that it is truly about the consumer and then about them.
Unfortunately, Minnick can't scream her way to success anymore...she will have to put up or shut up. Her abrasiveness may come back to haunt her...
Unfortunately Coke's culture is so strong that even if they bought innovative small beverage companies, they would eventually stiffle their entrepreneurial spirit (as has happened on many occasion). Coke will never be a true innovator until they fix the culture, and I'm not sure that Mary Minnick is in a position to do so.
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