Indian Institute of Management Bangalore

Research for Marketing Decisions

PGP, Term III (2022-2023)
When Problem Identification Went Wrong _ Few Live Cases

1. Colgate Kitchen Entrees

Marketing Research for Colgate suggested the idea behind Colgate Kitchen Entrees was the fact
that people would eat the Colgate frozen dinners and then brush their teeth with Colgate toothpaste.
However, this idea didn’t work. Because, further research found that when people think of Colgate
they tend to think of clean teeth, not frozen lasagna and Swedish meatballs. Market research for
Colgate failed to identify the correct link between Colgate and clean teeth, and thus this failure.

2. New Coke
New Coke was introduced as a completely reformulated soft drink after extensive market research
and testing. The company was convinced that people would take to it immediately. As a result, it has
been decided to scrap the original Coca-Cola and introduced New Coke in its place. As soon as the
decision was announced, a large percentage of the US population immediately decided to boycott the
new product. On 23 April 1985 New Coke was introduced and a few days later the production of
original Coke was stopped. This joint decision has since been referred to as ‘the biggest marketing
blunder of all time’. Sales of New Coke were low and public outrage was high at the fact that the
original was no longer available. It soon became clear that Coca-Cola had little choice but to bring
back its original brand and formula. ‘We have heard you,’ said Goizueta at a press conference on 11
July 1985. The original formula was back on the shelves three months later, and (amazingly) New
Coke, which was re-christened Coke II, stuck around until 2002. Marketing Research failed to
understand emotional attachment to the brand Coca-Cola.

3. Tata Nano
Buying a car in India is associated with social status and prestige; if a person owns a car, he is
assumed to be successful and settled. It differs hugely from the Western market, where cars are more
of a necessity rather than luxury. If a person buys a car in US, no one gives a damn unless it’s a
Ferrari or Lamborghini. Indian market is different, and a different marketing strategy was required for
selling Nano, which is arguably world’s cheapest car. However, marketing research for Tata Motors
suggested that use of word “cheap” in its marketing campaigns would results in sales but the word
‘cheap’ in its marketing campaigns spoiled everything. Wrong identification of promotional message
leads to spoil the brand.

“I always felt the Nano should have been marketed towards the owner of a two-wheeler because it
was conceived to give people who rode on two-wheeler an all-weather, safe form of transportation,
not (the) cheapest,” “It became termed as the cheapest car by the public, and [also] I’m sorry to say,
by the company when it was being marketed,” Ratan Tata.