here's a story about how coke zero is doing and why coke changed the packaging.

Coke pumps up push for Zero | ajc.com

the most interesting thing is that... we discussed these very issues on this board about a year before coke made the change (i.e., that they needed more informative commercials and should switch to black packaging).

coke and pepsi execs really need to pay attention to this board more if they want to boost their sales. right, zabe?

Perhaps the suits are watching this board closely. When it comes to Coke and Pepsi it is not that easy to make quick chages. You have to take into account how many cans, bottle wrappers(sleeves), caps and other packaging they have on hand and the cost invloved with said packaging.The marketing campaigns and the ramp up to these has to be created and scheduled is also an issue to be considered.

It may have well taken a year to get this done.
g

This is true, greg.

Our 8pk PET boxes are still white, even though all other packaging is black, and the bottles inside have black labels as well.

I have said this before and I will say it again LOL......
The regular board mates of this board are (in their
own niche), experts in the soda pop industry. I view
this board as a "think tank".

I'm sure there are a few industry eyes reading this
board to keep up dated on what's important to us
soda pop freaks.

Well, if they are, you referring to us as freaks certainly isn't giving us any credibility, now is it?

I use the word freaks as an endearment. LOL
It's sort of like my way of saying that in a nice way we are
sort of like idiot savants of the soda pop industry.

Have you heard of the term "soda jerk"? That was the name for the men/women who worked behind the soda fountains of times past. I guess that is what gave me the inspiration of "soda pop freak".

IMO, the suits of the soda pop industry are hip enough to know my endearment is not meant as a put down.

Actually, freaks may be an apt term. And, I may be totally wrong here, but personally, I'm not sure if what is discussed here really is paid attention to by the big soda companies. Why? Because, really, most people in the public don't give a darn about the stuff we talk about. Or if they do, to them it's mostly trivia, not somthing to care about a lot. They just want to pick up a 12pack of something to drink. And really, those people are the ones that matter most to the soda companies, not us..... we really don't contribute that much to to overall sales. If we did, I'm sure there's be a lot more Major label ads popping up on the Google ad strip to the right.

Brilliant point!!!!!!
Well said.

the average person may not pay attention to soda as much as we do; BUT... last year, i'm quite sure that zabe and i (and others) discussed how coke zero's packaging (in the US) should be switched to black (to appeal to males) and that the first commercials were meaningless (in that they were uninformative).

those were our observations.

and, according to the article, that's exactly the conclusions that coke came to.

yes, we're "freaks". but we're freaks who often know what they're talking about.

Gosh how many months did we banter about how Coke Zero's marketing/art was poor? The weird thing was at the same time we were anointing Coke Zero as the break through new brand that was going to be a massive big success. It looks like we were just about right,Coke Zero is doing very well and the new design scheme is right on the money.