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Donald R. Keough, Who Led Coca-Cola Through New Coke Debacle, Dies at 88
Source: New York Times
Donald R. Keough, Who Led Coca-Cola Through New Coke Debacle, Dies at 88
By STEPHANIE STROMFEB. 24, 2015
Donald R. Keough, who led Coca-Cola through the disastrous introduction of New Coke in 1985 and the return of the original formula just 10 weeks later, died on Tuesday in Atlanta, his family said. He was 88.
When the company introduced New Coke, using a sweeter formula that many consumers said they preferred to the original and to Coke’s longtime rival Pepsi-Cola, it knew it was taking a risk. But the reaction was far more intense than Coke had anticipated.
“All of the time and money and skill that we poured into consumer research could not reveal the depth of feeling for the original taste of Coca-Cola,” Mr. Keough said at a news conference when the reversal was announced.
“Some cynics say we planned the whole thing” as a marketing ploy to drive up sales, he said. “The truth is we are not that dumb and we are not that smart.”
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By STEPHANIE STROMFEB. 24, 2015
Donald R. Keough, who led Coca-Cola through the disastrous introduction of New Coke in 1985 and the return of the original formula just 10 weeks later, died on Tuesday in Atlanta, his family said. He was 88.
When the company introduced New Coke, using a sweeter formula that many consumers said they preferred to the original and to Coke’s longtime rival Pepsi-Cola, it knew it was taking a risk. But the reaction was far more intense than Coke had anticipated.
“All of the time and money and skill that we poured into consumer research could not reveal the depth of feeling for the original taste of Coca-Cola,” Mr. Keough said at a news conference when the reversal was announced.
“Some cynics say we planned the whole thing” as a marketing ploy to drive up sales, he said. “The truth is we are not that dumb and we are not that smart.”
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Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/25/business/donald-r-keough-who-led-coca-cola-through-new-coke-debacle-dies-at-88.html
