Study: Coke Is Most Talked About Brand in America
Study: Coke Is Most Talked About Brand in Americas
By Elaine Wong - Oct 23, 2008
Word-of-mouth about Coke has exploded, as if someone dropped a
Mentos mint into a bottle of its diet version.
According to a new study released by the Keller Fay Group,
Coca-Cola is currently the most talked about brand in America. The
ranking was drawn from 25,142 consumer conversations conducted
between January and August 2008.
"They've been working [W-O-M] channels pretty adeptly, and clearly
have learned a great deal since turning their corporate nose up at
all the Diet Coke/Mentos experiments a couple of years ago," said
Gerry Khermouch, editor of Beverage Business Insights, West
Nyack, N.Y. "The accomplishment is all the more impressive since a
basic carbonated soft drink is not inherently buzzworthy."
Katie Bayne, CMO at Coca-Cola, North America, said, "We're actively
and consistently fueling buzz through innovative efforts like the
nearly 11 million-household My Coke Rewards program . . . top-rated
Super Bowl and Internet advertising, and an Olympic program that
connected the world over a Coke."
Its chief cola rival, Pepsi, came in fourth place, right behind
AT&T (2) and Verizon (3). The findings come from Keller Fay Group's
TalkTrack analysis, which examines word-of-mouth conversations held
both on and offline. This is the first time the data has been broken
down as such.
While technology, telecommunications and automotive dominated the
top 20, packaged goods and retail companies accounted for 32% of all
word-of-mouth conversations.
Ed Keller, CEO at Keller Fay, New Brunswick, N.J., said this is
because these brands fall under the realm of "social categories" and
have greater frequency of purchase. Another reason is that consumers
are exposed to retail and packaged goods marketing messages on a daily
basis. "Consumer packaged goods companies are quite good at using
marketing to stimulate conversation, whether intentional or not," he
said. Oftentimes, this can be as simple as an in-store circular or
coupon.
No. 5 Wal-Mart, for instance, focuses its marketing message around
three key pillars: "Unbeatable prices, quality products and an easy
shopping experience," said Clint McClain, senior director of emerging
media for Wal-Mart U.S. "Wal-Mart has never been more clear on who we
are and how we can best serve our customers. We help people save money
so they can live better."
"People like to talk about things they use everyday," said Dave
Balter, CEO of BzzAgent, a Boston-based W-O-M marketing agency. "If you
have a frequency of use for a product, it gives you more reason to talk
about it."