Today is the 30th Anniversary of the launch of New Coke. Vox today takes a retrospective look at what went wrong, including a lack of sufficient market testing of the new, sweeter flavor. Interestingly, the article notes that Coca-Cola's then-existing large network of independent bottlers (franchisees, really) played a key role in convincing headquarters in Atlanta to bring back "Classic" Coca-Cola.
A little over a year ago, this blog also discussed the New Coke crisis from a public relations and legal perspective. You can read all about the lessons learned from that crisis, including knowing who your enemy is, not inadvertently fanning the flames of crisis, and being completely upfront, by following this link.
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