I agree with that you can't blame Pepsi for Diet Dew- its really old and Pepsi wanted to wait until the sweeters were good enough to make it worth their while. They waited until the least amount of people would be pissed possible. There is always the chance they made a mistake, but I don't think thats super likely. On the other hand sales increases always come when brands get promotions like the "TUT" Diet Dew is getting. In the end I expect that this will result in relativly flat volume which is actually an increase since any sales VAULT Zero is generating are at the expense of D-Dew.

Originally posted by SURGE:
In the end I expect that this will result in relativly flat volume which is actually an increase since any sales VAULT Zero is generating are at the expense of D-Dew.

Some people may just want to try a new soda...1 sale of Vault Zero doesn't automatically mean that's -1 sale for Diet Dew. That may be your opinion...but I'd say its without factual basis...

I wasnt really saying that every single bottle of VAULT-Z sold is a loss to D-Dew . Clearly V and D are in competition directly so the statement is not without merit that VAULT Zero sales will come from D-Dew drinkers. All I was trying to say in the first place is that Diet Dew will feel some hit from Zero it could be 1% or 10%+ who knows but it will be something- if you disagree with that then your not being realistic. So in the end what I'm saying is that D-Dew will lose some to VAULT-Z (who knows how many) and this new formulation will help offset that. The prediction on it being flat was a predictionbut one that is hardly unfair to Pepsi- heck I'm saying in the face of huge competition (and millions of dollars) that a brand will not lose volume. And this after a devisive reformulation. Please try and understand that everything I said is long term as well not simply based on the current discounted intro pricing. Please don't look for fanboism in a statement that was devoid of it and only pointing out the obvious while offering a likely (though possibly wrong) predition.

All of you OLD DIET DEW FORMULA LOVERS please email this lady from customer relations at PEPSI. Maybe if enough of us complain, they will bring out CLASSIC DIET MOUNTAIN DEW, similiar to the COKE screwup of the 80's. I wouldn't care what they called it as long as they bring it back. This is a copy of the email I received from her when I complained about how much "TUNED UP TASTE------------->SUCKS!"


Thank you for taking the time to contact us here at Pepsi-Cola Company about the reformulated Diet Mountain Dew.

We've updated the sweetener system in the new Dew to include a blend of the best no-calorie sweeteners on the market: aspartame, sucralose
(Splenda) and acesulfame potassium (Ace-K). We tested the new formula with thousands of Diet Dew fans to see what they thought of it and they loved the flavor and its new sweetener system. We never would have gone ahead without checking in with our biggest fans first.

Nonetheless, we're truly sorry to learn that the new version did not appeal to you. We appreciate your support over the years and we sincerely regret your disappointment.

Please be assured that consumer feedback is important to us. Therefore, I promise to share your thoughts with the appropriate individuals within the brand group as well as our senior management.

Again, thank you for sharing your comments with us.


Suzanne Gooley
Consumer Relations Representative consumerrelations@cr.pepsi.com 010877127A

FYI. JUST FOUND A PETITION ONLINE TO SIGN ABOUT CHANGING BACK THE DIET DEW.

www.petitiononline.com/dietdew/petition.html

Surge - I understand your point clearly. Please don't get defensive as that wasn't my intention. WE all know Coke created Vault and Zero as competition for Dew. However, has Coke made it clear (to the public) that Vault is a Dew competitor? I kind of don't think so. Or, have they just flooded the media with "tastes like a soda; kicks like an energy drink?" In that respect, Diet Dew drinkers, IMHO, are not "energy buzz" enthusiasts and wouldn't necessarily be attracted to that tagline. Again, my opinion and speculation. If I'm even a little bit right, I think Coke would be successful at attracting some new business - perhaps some females that enjoy energy drinks and want a soda with a bit more taste and kick than the usual diet drink. Or even males that want the same kind of drink with less calories...
Either way, the competition is good and Vault should add some volume to the citrus CSD category.

Interesting point about how Coke has avoided mentioning Dew directly in relation to VAULT and its marketining. I have some newpaper articles ect. that have quotes from Coke officials that specifically draw the link- but it is not something Coke has banked on. I think there are a few reasons for this

1. They don't wanna advertise for Dew or seem like a knockoff

2. They are going after MDX as well (and Jolt and similar caffine oriented e-drinks).

3. They don't want to limit the market to just Dew fans. Lets not forget that Mello Yello is being pulled in many places- Coke obviously wants ex-MY drinkers to move to VAULT.

Overall I think that not naming Dew has a few negatives from a sales perspective- but at the same time I think its very important to create a new brand with its own identity. I have mentioned this in other posts but it bears repeting. Coke will IMHO be best off trying to do with VAULT what Pepsi did with Sierra Mist- that is shoot for slow but consistant growth as well as creating an identity that is wholey independent of the competition. At the same time Mist has targetted non-lemon lime drinkers and while it has had little effect on Sprite it has been able to grow the market despite my own personal opinions on its quality Pepsi has done alot of good marketining work and created a product that while not wildly succesfull- is something asked for by name by a certain segment of consumers.

Great points there as well. I agree that Coke would be wiser to not mention Dew or MDX to your point - allow Vault to establish itself as its own entity...not a knockoff or me-too.

Sierra Mist is a brand that grew VERY slowly since its release. Slow sales caused some retailers to discontinue it a few years back..but Pepsi promised that it would continue to invest in the brand through marketing/advertising and that it would grow. What Pepsi did right was to treat Mist as a CORE brand instead of just another flavored CSD in the portfolio.

Its paid off...the brand has grown immensely since those days and has now become one of Pepsi's top 5 CSD's.

[ 06-09-2006, 04:45 PM: Message edited by: CStoreCatMan ]