Cheetah Project

Changing consumer behavior is arguably one of the most difficult challenges facing Marketing. Some behaviors are so deep rooted in social and cultural backgrounds that consumers may not even be aware what drives or inhibits their behavioral decision making. Even behind the most globally recognized beverage brand name (Coca-Cola), inducing consumers to “Enjoy a Coke” when it is presented in an unfamiliar package (Post Mix, or “POM”) was a task greater that anyone in Latin America had imagined.

We had the opportunity to take the lead in the development of a Market Strategy targeting a single sub-channel: fondas or low-cost restaurants – targeting lower economic consumers. Typically these restaurants offer consumers restaurant-made beverages – traditional “refrescos” common to low income families. Bottled Coke brands are not in everyone’s price range in these venues.

In conjunction with Coca-Cola Marketing (at the bottler level) we developed a strategy that we jointly executed in San Salvador (El Salvador). The intent was to make Coke brands available to low-income consumers as part of the meal. The tactic was to price the beverage as part of a bundle with the food, making the set price competitive with the alternatives. The idea was that once the consumer experienced a ‘cold Coke’ we would be a major step forward towards capturing the consumer i.e. changing their behavior.

Without going into the details of the market research, account selection criteria, execution tactics, etc., the following slides show the end results of the focused field test. What we found was consumers were willing to change behavior once a paradigm was created where they could understand the value to do so. Then, if the experience was rewarding (from taste and financial perspectives), for most consumers the barriers to “experiment” were dropped. A new trend was developing. Social messaging and communication were key ingredients to the strategy.

Perhaps one of the most insightful observations was the apparent key to growing POM incidence; the closer the retailer followed the tenets of the strategy, the greater their success in up-selling the “new” beverage. Since POM is the highest margin package for the retailer and the “best buy” for the consumer, it resulted in a win / win strategy for all.