Throwback is back

I got really excited  in my post about the Pepsi Throwback campaign earlier this year, and now the cereal brands have caught my eye.

The packaging artwork with old skool cartoons are so much more captivating simply because they look hand drawn and lovingly cultivated - although to what extent they represent todays 'family' highlights how the perspective of that era has evolved so dramatically.

Now that’s what I call a logo

CNN and Fortune magazine have a great piece highlighting 12 major link brand identity restages of companies with strong examples being Walmart, IBM and Starbucks. I posted last month about how much I love the restage by Pepsi – which shook my complacency with Coke drove me to try Pepsi with the ultimate result of that I switched allegiance to Pepsi. Of the examples the stand out is UPS, providing effortless proof that the colour brown can successfully be used to differentiate and connote positive attributes that engage the consumer and fit a brand so well.

Trial: The holy grail !

Remember the last time you tried a new brand or product - how did you feel?

Let me take you back a week
As a happy Coke zero consumer, (and an occasional Sprite zero drinker) I happened to be thirsty and needed a drink whilst shopping in Target. So on auto pilot I searched for Coke zero and couldn’t find it in the chillers by the checkout (I don’t like Diet Coke).

A sudden appearance
Now, all of a sudden I noticed diet Pepsi. Why did I notice ? Well in the last few months Pepsi has rolled out new designs across the lineup, and they just seem to attract me that little bit more, and as they were the same price as Coke I thought why not try diet Pepsi. Why am I telling you all this, well it’s because I absolutely love diet Pepsi, in fact I prefer it to Coke Zero.

I have defected from Coke zero after one trial of diet Pepsi !

The Power of New
As a brand manager this experience troubles me. It seems that my action was sparked by 3 things:
a) there was no real risk to my decision, after all I was thirsty, so I was desperate to consume anything cold and wet.
b) no incremental cost - ie diet Pepsi was the same price as the Coke equivalent, BUT
c) there was something new and interesting about Pepsi. The new packaging design made me feel different about Pepsi, it made me think differently about Pepsi, it helped interest me enough to try Pepsi.

What's going through your mind ? Do diet Pepsi know that their taste beats Coke zero ? Am I going to revert back to Coke ? Why doesn't Target have Coke Zero in the chillers ?

It feels liberating to try something new, and I guess Pepsi were counting on that simple response.ix74wmjf2r