- August 2003
-
- Is the Cola-war heating up?
-
- As we all know are Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola dominating the cola
market and the cold drinks market in general. There have been
attempts to break the barriers, like Virgin did and they have had
success to some extend. But this was not of significance compared to
the market shares of the big ones. This is not just the case in the
Western world, but it is also - and may by especially - the case in
the entire world.
-
- Lately, there have been attempts to launch different initiatives
in the Arabic and Muslim world concerning a cola product, like Mecca
Cola, Arab Cola etc. But negative publicity and stinky rumors have
overshadowed the companies and their products. Time will show. But
from a marketing point of view, these were failures. If we have to
sum up some activities that led to these failures, one of the first
things we can come up with is the (negative) association of these
brands. Names like "Mecca" and "Arab" refer to
religious and nationalistic sentiments. Today we believe that we
live in a global village, so the emphasize on religion or nation is
not a clever thing to do. Secondly, the image of the religion Islam
and the Arab countries is not what it should be. One can say that
the people behind the scene wanted to create a shock effect and gain
publicity out of it. And that it is for that reason a good marketing
trick. But I don not share that opinion. Because, first of all the
effect fades away in the long term and secondly negative publicity
is not something desirable. A product should always has to have a
association, if the association is not positive than it has no use.
-
- One of the initiatives has had positive attention: Cola Turka. Its
launch was in July 2003 in Turkey and after seeing the commercial a
majority of the Turks consumed it like if they had gone mad. But if
you look closely at the commercials you will not see an
anti-American setting, and the famous American actor Chevy Chase is
starring in the commercials. Take a look at what the magazine Advertising
Age says about the commercials:
-
- "The two spots, filmed in New York, aren't
anti-America but turn the idea of cola as an American symbol on its
head as New Yorkers who are shown drinking Cola Turka suddenly
become Turkish."
-
- So, there is some slight positive nationalism embedded, but the
communication of it is done very smart. If we take the developments
at the region into account, this gets more importance.
-
-
-
-
|
- The U.S. was not pleased when Turkey refused to open a northern
front during the war in Iraq. Later, 11 Turkish soldiers were
captured by American soldiers and were questioned in Iraq,
which resulted in a nation-wide anger against the U.S. The next day
Ulker launched its Cola Turka. Not only the launching, but more
important was the message with the launch of the commercials. The
message was "drink Cola Turka en become Turkish". This is
a kind of backwards imperialism. They are saying that "what you
can do, I can do better". But in a way that it makes you smile.
-
- So Cola Turka is waging war against the Coca-Cola and Pepsi Cola
using their weapons. The instruments are not short term, simple like
its predecessors. Image building is very important in a market where
you do not have market share. Ulker aims to be more than a niche
brand in Turkey's 7.5 billion liter soft drink market. Ulker has
said in statements that its goal is a 25% share of Turkey's
youthful, fast-growing soft-drink market, currently dominated by
Coke with a 57% share, followed by Pepsi with 27%. In doing so Ulker
is trying to build the brand by focusing on the product through its
name. They are not saying that Cola Turka tastes better or is
healthier, but rather saying it changes you. Ulker is aiming at the
world wide declining of the image of "Corporate America".
-
- Where this war will end is up to Cola Turka and its rivals. Cola
Turka should go on with its image building and make clear that it
stands for something. Drinking Cola Turka should give the consumer
some sort of a feeling. Just like the "enjoy happiness"
feeling of Coca Cola and the "young and cool / generation
next" feeling of Pepsi Cola. Cola Turka has to have certain
values and believes which has the power to gather people around it
attracted by these values.
-
- Advertising Age says about the commercials the following:
-
- "In the one spot, Mr. Chase walks through
Times Square as a car full of Turks, wrapped in their national flag
to celebrate a soccer victory, drive by. He enters a diner to grab a
cup of coffee and a cowboy sitting next to him begins using Turkish
words after drinking from a red-and-white can of Cola Turka."
-
- "In the next spot, Mr. Chase is seen
parking his Griswold-style station wagon at his suburban home, where
his wife is preparing a Turkish meal for her parents and the
children. At the dinner table everyone sings "Take me out to
the ball game" until they take a sip of Cola Turka and break
into a Turkish-language 1930s Boy Scout song that is part of
Turkey's national identity. At the end of the spot, Mr. Chase
sprouts a bushy mustache."
-
- If you like to see the commercials click below at the links.
 - Commercial
1
Commercial
2
|
